# Mississippi River Shipping Backlog Hits Farmers

> U.S. farmers face shipping backlogs for newly harvested corn and soybeans as Mississippi River delays and aging locks slow navigation. Barge costs to Gulf terminals are near record highs, and cash soybean premiums at St. Louis-area terminals fell to their lowest since at least 2011.

- Date: 2017-10-02 · published 2017-10-02T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/68347-mississippi-river-shipping-backlog-hits-farmers
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md)

## Why it matters

Transport bottlenecks trap supply inland, depressing local soybean premiums and bids while raising freight costs, which widens the spread between interior and Gulf prices for buyers.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: bearish ▼
- BARGE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2026-06-01 | [Low Mississippi River Water Levels Raise Shipping Costs for Farmers](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16363-low-mississippi-river-water-levels-raise-shipping-costs-for-farmers.md) | -5.0% | -4.5% |
| SOY | 2022-10-04 | [U.S. barge backlog swells on parched Mississippi River \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16675-u-s-barge-backlog-swells-on-parched-mississippi-river-reuters.md) | 0.0% | +2.4% |
| SOY | 2026-05-26 | [Low Mississippi River Water Levels Raise Shipping Costs For Farmers — Louisiana Farm Bureau News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16362-low-mississippi-river-water-levels-raise-shipping-costs-for-farmers-louisiana.md) | -0.4% | -5.3% |
| SOY | 2019-03-16 | [Swollen Mississippi River adds more headaches for grain farmers](https://feedsoft.ai/events/59982-swollen-mississippi-river-adds-more-headaches-for-grain-farmers.md) | -0.6% | -1.5% |
| SOY | 2024-10-24 | [Low Mississippi River levels during harvest cut profits for farmers, freighters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/28043-low-mississippi-river-levels-during-harvest-cut-profits-for-farmers-freighters.md) | -2.1% | -0.7% |

## Sources

- gcaptain.com: https://gcaptain.com/mississippi-river-shipping-backlog-hits-farmers/

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