Articles tagged under: Mississippi River

Sub-Zero Temps Disrupt Grain Shipments on Mississippi

Published December 19, 2025

Barges on the Mississippi River have faced delays this month as sub-zero temperatures and ice have slowed operations, according to the USDA’s latest Grain Transportation report. Warmer weather in recent days is expected to help melt some of the ice.…

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River Restrictions

Published December 6, 2024

Due to dry conditions, barge draft and tow-sizes have been reduced on the Mississippi River. Draft sizes have dropped to 11-and-a-half feet from St. Louis to Cairo, Illinois. That results in a reduction of nine-to-14 barges or 25-to-40 percent of…

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A Third Consecutive Year with Low River Levels

Published August 21, 2024

Water levels on the Mississippi River are dropping for the third straight year. The river has dropped 17 feet since June at Memphis. It appears river levels will continue to decline through the end of the month. The issue isn’t…

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Mississippi River Water Levels Restored by Recent Rains

Published May 16, 2024

Mississippi River levels are back to more normal depths after two years of shallow conditions. Soy Transportation Coalition Executive Director Mike Steenhoek says all the rain we’ve been getting has done wonders for the water levels in U.S. River systems.…

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#3-Unprecedented Transportation Woes

Published December 29, 2023

RRFN’s third ranked story for the past year is the unprecedented transportation woes facing agricultural shipments. At the end of the year, the Suez Canal and cargo shipments on the Red Sea were facing attacks from militant rebels. Mother Nature…

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Unprecedented

Published December 20, 2023

Freight rates are moving higher, increasing the cost of commodities. Tim Marsh, Summit Commodities, describes this as an unprecedented situation. "The Suez Canal in some distress so there are some questions to whether or not we're gonna be able to ship…

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River Levels Plummet, Concerns Rise

Published October 12, 2023

Mississippi River water levels at Memphis reached a record low of minus 11.5 feet this past week. The low water levels have disrupted barge traffic on the river. When the drought dropped river levels last year, the lowest elevation was…

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Barge Traffic Hampered by Low Water Levels

Published September 28, 2023

Due to low water levels on the lower Mississippi River, new draft and tow-size restrictions have been implemented for barge traffic. American Commercial Barge Line is reporting parts of the river channel are down to nine feet. Delays of 48-to-72…

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Mississippi River-A Bad Sequel

Published September 6, 2023

Current water levels of the Mississippi River are cause for concern once again this year. Barge companies have announced restrictions on the volume of freight they will load onto vessels. Soy Transportation Coalition Executive Director Mike Steenhoek says it’s an…

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Whiplash River Levels

Published July 7, 2023

The water levels on the Mississippi River are going through whiplash since fall after the rapid rise from the runoff this spring. "When that snow melted it was disproportionately fed into our streams and rivers," said Mike Steenhoek, executive director,…

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