# Tariffs Bite At End Of Better Year For Barging - The Waterways Journal

> Barge rates stayed above their one- and three-year averages for most of 2018, but tariffs on Chinese imports and China's retaliation hit soybean movements. Through October, U.S. soybean shipments to China fell 94 percent according to USDA data. Corn barge movements were up, and coal and oil and gas carriage continued to improve.

- Date: 2018-11-16 · published 2018-11-16T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/61940-tariffs-bite-at-end-of-better-year-for-barging-the-waterways-journal
- Commodities: [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md), [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

Lower soybean barge volumes reduce river demand and pressure barge freight, while the loss of Chinese demand weighs on soybean export values. Corn barge strength partly offsets this for river freight.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: bearish ▼
- CORN: bullish ▲
- BARGE: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2025-03-21 | [Spring Forward: What's On The Horizon For The Barge Market? - The Waterways Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16461-spring-forward-what-s-on-the-horizon-for-the-barge-market-the-waterways-journal.md) | +0.4% | +2.3% |
| SOY | 2019-10-25 | [Harvest Season Could Be Subdued For Barges - The Waterways Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/56459-harvest-season-could-be-subdued-for-barges-the-waterways-journal.md) | -1.8% | -3.5% |
| SOY | 2023-08-25 | [Low Water Continues For Middle Mississippi - The Waterways Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16608-low-water-continues-for-middle-mississippi-the-waterways-journal.md) | -0.4% | -5.1% |
| SOY | 2022-01-14 | [Ice, Low Water Affecting Navigation - The Waterways Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16733-ice-low-water-affecting-navigation-the-waterways-journal.md) | +3.6% | +15.9% |
| SOY | 2024-10-25 | [Horizons: Low Water Equals Rising Freight Rates - The Waterways Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16501-horizons-low-water-equals-rising-freight-rates-the-waterways-journal.md) | -1.4% | -1.9% |
| CORN | 2025-08-15 | [Surging Grain, Soybean Exports Buoy Covered Barge Market - The Waterways Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23511-surging-grain-soybean-exports-buoy-covered-barge-market-the-waterways-journal.md) | +2.6% | +5.0% |
| CORN | 2020-03-31 | [Amid Virus Crisis, Let’s Not Forget High Water - The Waterways Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/54028-amid-virus-crisis-let-s-not-forget-high-water-the-waterways-journal.md) | -2.6% | -11.2% |
| CORN | 2022-01-07 | [Channel Deepening Milestone—Thanks To Industry Allies - The Waterways Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16739-channel-deepening-milestone-thanks-to-industry-allies-the-waterways-journal.md) | +0.7% | +3.3% |

## Sources

- waterwaysjournal.net: https://www.waterwaysjournal.net/2018/11/16/tariffs-bite-at-end-of-better-year-for-barging/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.