# Soaring river freight hits U.S. farmers - Grainews

> U.S. farmers face delays on the Mississippi River from low water and lock backups, which pushed Midwestern crop hauling costs to near-record highs. Elevators are prioritizing soybean loadings and storing corn, and cash soybean premiums at St. Louis-area terminals fell to their lowest since at least 2011.

- Date: 2017-10-03 · published 2017-10-03T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region US · magnitude high
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/7541-soaring-river-freight-hits-u-s-farmers-grainews
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

Higher barge freight and export bottlenecks widen basis discounts and cut what farmers receive, while slowing export shipments. Weak cash premiums reflect the logistical squeeze.

## Read by commodity

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

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2022-09-30 | [Low River Levels, Soaring Barge Freight Curb U.S. Grain Exports](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16682-low-river-levels-soaring-barge-freight-curb-u-s-grain-exports.md) | -3.7% | -2.0% |
| SOY | 2017-10-10 | [Soaring Cost of River Freight Hits Ag \| Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6121-soaring-cost-of-river-freight-hits-ag-farm-equipment-manufacturers-association.md) | +2.5% | +1.8% |
| SOY | 2017-10-02 | [Mississippi River Shipping Backlog Hits Farmers](https://feedsoft.ai/events/68347-mississippi-river-shipping-backlog-hits-farmers.md) | +0.4% | +0.7% |
| SOY | 2017-10-04 | [River Freight Cost Pressuring Grain Prices \| 680 KFEQ](https://feedsoft.ai/events/68667-river-freight-cost-pressuring-grain-prices-680-kfeq.md) | +1.1% | +1.9% |
| SOY | 2026-10-22 | [Rising Ocean Freight Raises Costs for U.S. Grain - RFD-TV](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17245-rising-ocean-freight-raises-costs-for-u-s-grain-rfd-tv.md) | -2.3% | — |
| CORN | 2022-09-30 | [Low River Levels, Soaring Barge Freight Curb U.S. Grain Exports](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16682-low-river-levels-soaring-barge-freight-curb-u-s-grain-exports.md) | +1.0% | +3.8% |
| CORN | 2017-10-10 | [Soaring Cost of River Freight Hits Ag \| Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6121-soaring-cost-of-river-freight-hits-ag-farm-equipment-manufacturers-association.md) | -0.3% | -4.5% |
| CORN | 2017-10-04 | [River Freight Cost Pressuring Grain Prices \| 680 KFEQ](https://feedsoft.ai/events/68667-river-freight-cost-pressuring-grain-prices-680-kfeq.md) | -0.4% | -1.6% |

## Sources

- grainews.ca: https://www.grainews.ca/daily/soaring-river-freight-hits-u-s-farmers/

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