# What You Should Know About Shipping Conditions - Steel Market Update

> Dry bulk freight rates have dropped but may be plateauing, per MID-SHIP Group, with fleet growth strongest in three years. The Baltic Dry Index rose 25 points to 849.0 on June 9, 2017. High water on the Lower Mississippi has cut tow sizes by 5-10 barges and added 2-3 days to Cairo-to-Gulf transits.

- Date: 2017-06-10 · published 2017-06-10T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/70677-what-you-should-know-about-shipping-conditions-steel-market-update
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Ocean Grain Freight](https://feedsoft.ai/c/OCEANFRT.md)

## Why it matters

Higher river water constraints raise barge costs and slow grain movement to Gulf export positions, supporting Gulf basis and freight. Softer ocean freight reduces import costs for dry bulk commodities.

## Read by commodity

- BARGE: bullish ▲
- OCEANFRT: neutral

## Sources

- steelmarketupdate.com: https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/2017/06/10/what-you-should-know-about-shipping-conditions/

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