Weather & Science
Drought Pushes Mississippi River Grain Shipping Rate to a Record
- Prices spike during crucial harvest, threatening supply chain
- Less room for barges could force up rates more, USDA warns
A towboat pushes barges up the Mississippi River in Granite City, Illinois.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
American farmers face yet another supply-chain headache just as harvest season moves into high gear: Not enough barges on a shrinking Mississippi River.
Drought is drying up the crucial US water artery. That means less room for vessels shipping out corn and soybeans, the biggest US crops. Barge rates reached $49.88 per ton on Tuesday, the highest on record and up nearly 50% from a year ago, according to a government report released Thursday.