Low Water Shuts Down Stretches of Mississippi River

By CnAgri2012-08-24 19:37:49 Print

The U.S. Coast Guard reported this week that 97 vessels were stranded by low water on the Mississippi River near Greenville, Mississippi after an 11-mile stretch had to be closed for dredging.

River traffic was also halted near St. Louis for 12 hours at a time as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked to maintain a shipping lane wide enough and deep enough for commercial barges.

The drought has reduced the water levels on the river to their lowest point since 1988.

Thus far, barge freight rates have only increased slightly, since only small volumes of grain are currently being shipped to Gulf export terminals.

However, freight costs could move higher if traffic remains restricted during the corn and soybean harvest season.