Market Matters Blog

Most of the locks in the upper Mississippi River that were closed last week by the Coast Guard were reopened by Monday, with Lock 17 and Lock 20 in the upper Mississippi reopening Tuesday. While the river has crested from Iowa through southern Missouri and Illinois, it still remains above flood stage in some Missouri and Illinois communities north of St. Louis. The Mississippi River at St. Louis Thursday is at 31.68 feet; flood stage is 30 feet. Barge traffic has resumed, but high-water restrictions remain in place, causing barges to slow speeds in no-wake zones. With the river closed last week, barge grain movements through the week ending June 8 totaled 146,640 tons, which was 55.6% lower than the prior week and 74.2% lower than the prior year. A total of 96 grain barges moved down river, which was 61.3% lower than the prior week. Grain movement by rail was also down last week, dropping 6% from the prior week due to tracks and rail bridges affected by high water conditions.

Soybean and corn basis levels had dropped during the period that the river was closed, even though terminals could load barges that were at their plants. However, once any barges placed prior to the closure were loaded, many terminals lacked the ability to store extra grain without being able to send loaded barges downriver and receive new empties. The soybean basis did improve early in the week as the barges began to move in both directions again and shippers caught up on loadings. The barge freight market was mostly steady while the river was closed with demand for nearby barges at nearly a standstill. In the Illinois corridor, barge freight rates for the week ending June 11 were down 7% from last week and 18% lower than the three-year average.