For the week ending Sept. 2, grain barge movements on the locking portions of the Mississippi, Ohio and Arkansas rivers were 598,345 tons, 34% lower than last week and 9% lower than the three-year average for the first week of September, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Grain Transportation Report.
Corn movements fell 39% from the previous week, while wheat movements were 42% lower than the week before. Soybean movements were 25% lower than the week before. The drop in the weekly movements was due, in part, to the three-day unscheduled closure of Mississippi River Melvin Price Locks and Dam, located near St. Louis. There were also lock delays at Locks and Dam 52 on the Ohio River, LaGrange Lock and Dam on the Illinois River, and the Kentucky Lock and Dam on the Tennessee River, which also affected last week’s barge movements.
For the week ending Sept. 2, 385 grain barges moved down river, down 33% from last week, and 638 grain barges were unloaded in New Orleans, down 4% from the previous week, the GTR reported.
