For the week ending March 6, grain barge movements recovered from the effects of severe weather in the last half of February.
Despite high water conditions on the Ohio River and Lower Mississippi, total downbound grain was 848,441 tons, 93% higher than last week and the highest level since the beginning of February.
Meanwhile, although total upbound empty barges stayed the same as the previous week (632), upbound empty barges on the Ohio River dropped 30% because of high water.
In the St. Louis area, on the other hand, upbound empty barges on the Mississippi River totaled 396 barges, a 32% increase from last week.
Early this week, there were some barge delays on the Ohio River and Lower Mississippi due to high water, but the industry expects water conditions to improve for the rest of the week.
