Grain shippers and farmers are keeping a close eye on water levels along the Mississippi River after years of transportation challenges.
Executive Director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, Mike Steenhoek says that the efficiency of that waterway is critical, accounting for 55% of U.S. soybean exports each year.
According to Steenhoek, “A healthy Mississippi River with sufficient water levels to be able to make that whole supply chain operate efficiently, and we’ve had low water conditions in 2022, 2023, and then also in 2024. Fortunately, there has been a bit of a rebound in water levels on the Mississippi River. It first started in late October, where during the month of November we received a considerable amount of rainfall that helped recharge the system to an extent.”
He says that current levels are sufficient, but it is important to remember how quickly these levels can drop.
“It doesn’t really take long for water levels to retreat when you have an elongated period of dry weather, and so we saw that all of sudden happen as well,” Steenhoek explains. “Where we stand right now is that we have had some moisture in the Mississippi River watershed, which has caused water levels to go back up noticeably. So that’s obviously been beneficial, but this is something that continues to be on our radar screen. Something that we could certainly continue to monitor, and we really do need to see a continued amount of precipitation.”
Grain shippers face lower freight values thanks to weak soybean exports and strong rail service, but barge traffic and forward Gulf loadings suggest continued uncertainty as harvest ramps up.
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