# Barge Glut Chokes U.S. Shipping Sector Despite Record Harvest

> A glut of idle barges is clogging Mississippi River shorelines from St. Louis to New Orleans despite record corn and soybean exports. Barge lease rates have fallen more than 30% below the five-year February average, and St. Louis to Gulf rates have dropped to $8.40 per ton from an $18.00 pre-harvest high.

- Date: 2017-02-24 · published 2017-02-24T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/72373-barge-glut-chokes-u-s-shipping-sector-despite-record-harvest
- Commodities: [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md), [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md), [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md)

## Why it matters

Oversupplied barge capacity pushes freight costs down, which lowers the cost of moving grain to Gulf export terminals and can widen the spread between interior and Gulf prices.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: neutral
- CORN: neutral
- BARGE: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2019-12-09 | [UMR 2019 Barge Navigation Season Ends; Duluth Grain Shipping End Near](https://feedsoft.ai/events/55476-umr-2019-barge-navigation-season-ends-duluth-grain-shipping-end-near.md) | -2.5% | +1.2% |
| CORN | 2026-02-20 | [2025 barge grain movements rise despite weather challenges on Mississippi River System \| Feed & Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16383-2025-barge-grain-movements-rise-despite-weather-challenges-on-mississippi-river.md) | +1.4% | +8.9% |
| CORN | 2024-01-26 | [Freight rates for grain shipping from Ukraine's Odessa ports continue to decline - brokers](https://feedsoft.ai/events/32319-freight-rates-for-grain-shipping-from-ukraine-s-odessa-ports-continue-to.md) | -0.9% | -7.1% |
| CORN | 2025-12-05 | [The grain transportation sector sees strong demand amid record corn production \| Feed & Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/21699-the-grain-transportation-sector-sees-strong-demand-amid-record-corn-production.md) | -0.4% | -0.0% |
| CORN | 2019-06-17 | [Flooding Keeps Chokehold on Barge Traffic, Stalling Grain Shipments](https://feedsoft.ai/events/58499-flooding-keeps-chokehold-on-barge-traffic-stalling-grain-shipments.md) | -0.8% | -0.8% |
| SOY | 2019-12-09 | [UMR 2019 Barge Navigation Season Ends; Duluth Grain Shipping End Near](https://feedsoft.ai/events/55476-umr-2019-barge-navigation-season-ends-duluth-grain-shipping-end-near.md) | +2.0% | +5.1% |
| SOY | 2025-12-05 | [The grain transportation sector sees strong demand amid record corn production \| Feed & Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/21699-the-grain-transportation-sector-sees-strong-demand-amid-record-corn-production.md) | -2.3% | -6.5% |
| SOY | 2019-06-17 | [Flooding Keeps Chokehold on Barge Traffic, Stalling Grain Shipments](https://feedsoft.ai/events/58499-flooding-keeps-chokehold-on-barge-traffic-stalling-grain-shipments.md) | +0.7% | +0.6% |

## Sources

- dredgewire.com: https://dredgewire.com/barge-glut-chokes-u-s-shipping-sector-despite-record-harvest/
- gcaptain.com: https://gcaptain.com/barge-glut-chokes-u-s-shipping-sector-despite-record-harvest/
- investing.com: https://www.investing.com/analysis/barge-glut-on-the-mississippi-river;-trump-proposes-10-increase-in-defe-200177091

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