Drought Still Taking Toll on Mississippi River Water Levels

By CnAgri2012-08-17 19:46:28 Print

The drought continues to affect water levels on the Mississippi River, a major grain transportation route that has levels reaching near-historic lows.

To continue shipping goods on the water, barge companies have been forced to decrease their cargo load by about 25 percent in order to lose enough weight not to run aground, which has happened more than 20 times already this year.

The river ships about $180 billion worth of goods on barges annually, including 60 percent of the nation's grain, according to the American Waterways Operators.

One barge carries about the same volume of goods as 60 trucks.

Economists are forecasting an increase in prices for goods that are shipped on the Mississippi due to decreased traffic and payloads.