For the week ending June 21, grain barge tonnages on the locking portions of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Arkansas rivers were 1.1 million tons, continuing a three-week trend of tonnages exceeding 1 million tons per week, says the Grain Transportation Report.
The recent surge has occurred as operating conditions have improved on most segments of the system, along with an increased demand for export corn. High water conditions are reoccurring on some parts of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers, however, which might disrupt grain shipments.
Year-todate tonnages have been about 8% lower than last year and 1% lower than the three-year average for the comparable time period.
