As of November 3, year-to-date (YTD) grain barge tonnages, on the locking portions of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Arkansas rivers, were 31.7 million tons, 7% lower than last year.
The USDA Grain Transportation Report says significantly reduced demand from China and poor navigation conditions have contributed to the reduction in the volumes of barged grain.
Year-To-Date corn barge shipments were up 5 percent compared to last year. However, this was not enough to offset the 20% decline in YTD soybean shipments, resulting in lower overall demand for barge services.
As of November 6, barge spot rates from major interior shipping locations were 16% to 28% lower than the 5-year average.
