“Hundreds of barges remain stalled on the Mississippi River, blocking the main artery of the Farm Belt economy that has been devastated by a spring season full of relentless torrential rains and the melting of record-setting snowfalls. Railroads and highways have been closed as well, limiting the number of crops sent to market.” – According to the article in freightwaves.com and its author Nick Austin

Austin also wrote – “A large number of barges that are tied up are carrying grains, mainly corn and soybeans. These are the loads that weren’t able to be rerouted to different waterways, or offloaded onto a rail car or a truck. As a result of high water and fast currents, almost 300 barges are being held at two locks along the Mississippi.” This is according to the Waterways Council Inc., an organization that tracks barge movements.

Read the full story HERE

Source and credits: freightwaves.com / Nick Austin, Director of Weather Analytics and Senior Meteorologist