For the week ending June 30, corn barge tonnages on the locking portions of the Mississippi, Ohio and Arkansas rivers were 617 thousand tons, 14% lower than last week. Soybean tonnages were 249 thousand tons, 18% lower than last week. Barge operations have been slowed by high water conditions on the Upper Mississippi River.
During the same week, significant increases in wheat tonnages were reported on the Arkansas River, which had normal navigation conditions. Total wheat barge tonnages were 61 thousand tons, a weekly increase of 47%. As of July 3, no Mississippi River locks are forecasted to be closed. However, the number of barges per tow has been restricted on portions of the river.
