US Wheat Exports Plunge to 20-Year Low as Mississippi River Dries Up

American wheat shipments dropped to the lowest ever, hampered by a shrinking Mississippi River and competition from ample global grain supplies.

Drought has dried up the Mississippi, where roughly two-thirds of US grain exports historically have been shipped on barges to the US Gulf. Water levels have improved slightly from last month’s record low, but the world’s crop buyers have already been purchasing more supplies from elsewhere. That’s limited demand for US grain and contributed to the country losing its status as the shipper of choice.