# Waterways Haven’t Seen Real Investment in Decades - GAIN Now - Grow America’s Infrastructure Now

> An industry advocacy piece reports that 80 percent of commercial locks saw an unexpected outage in 2016, up from 71 percent in 1993. Most locks were built more than fifty years ago and have had few upgrades, and a major barge operator says stalled barges can hold commodities for extended periods.

- Date: 2017-07-28 · published 2017-07-28T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/69863-waterways-haven-t-seen-real-investment-in-decades-gain-now-grow-america-s
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md), [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md)

## Why it matters

Frequent lock outages lengthen barge transit times and raise costs, which can narrow river basis for grain and soybeans. The impact is ongoing rather than a sudden price shock.

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2017-11-01 | [America's Waterways, An Important Part of Ag Infrastructure, Need Repairs - Southeast AgNET](https://feedsoft.ai/events/67877-america-s-waterways-an-important-part-of-ag-infrastructure-need-repairs.md) | -3.2% | -4.8% |
| CORN | 2021-11-07 | [Competitiveness of U.S. agriculture industry dependent on infrastructure investment – AgriNews](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16754-competitiveness-of-u-s-agriculture-industry-dependent-on-infrastructure.md) | +5.9% | +8.0% |
| CORN | 2017-06-07 | [Agribusiness Angles for Infrastructure Upgrades on U.S. Inland Waterways - St. Louis Regional Freightway](https://feedsoft.ai/events/70681-agribusiness-angles-for-infrastructure-upgrades-on-u-s-inland-waterways-st.md) | +0.6% | +1.5% |
| CORN | 2022-06-02 | [Port of South Louisiana & Waterways Council Inc say U.S. infrastructure upgrades vital \| Air Freight News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16708-port-of-south-louisiana-and-waterways-council-inc-say-u-s-infrastructure.md) | +4.8% | +3.2% |
| CORN | 2019-02-11 | [Some infrastructure gains, but more needed](https://feedsoft.ai/events/60486-some-infrastructure-gains-but-more-needed.md) | +1.2% | -2.0% |
| SOY | 2017-11-01 | [America's Waterways, An Important Part of Ag Infrastructure, Need Repairs - Southeast AgNET](https://feedsoft.ai/events/67877-america-s-waterways-an-important-part-of-ag-infrastructure-need-repairs.md) | +1.3% | +1.9% |
| SOY | 2021-11-07 | [Competitiveness of U.S. agriculture industry dependent on infrastructure investment – AgriNews](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16754-competitiveness-of-u-s-agriculture-industry-dependent-on-infrastructure.md) | +3.5% | +5.8% |
| SOY | 2017-06-07 | [Agribusiness Angles for Infrastructure Upgrades on U.S. Inland Waterways - St. Louis Regional Freightway](https://feedsoft.ai/events/70681-agribusiness-angles-for-infrastructure-upgrades-on-u-s-inland-waterways-st.md) | +1.0% | +5.7% |

## Sources

- gainnow.org: https://gainnow.org/2017/07/28/waterways-infrastructure-hasnt-seen-real-investment-decades/

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