SHIPPING STRUGGLES

The Mississippi River may present challenges again in 2024.

- Cassidy Walter

Imagine it’s harvest time and you’re headed to the co-op with a load of corn. You’re in a hurry. You arrive, only to see 15 trucks ahead of you — and a short-staffed scale house. That time you spend waiting costs you money. 

That’s what it’s like when low water levels cause delays on the Mississippi River, as they have for two years. Experts say signs indicate another similar year is not out of the question. 

“We set records in 2022,” says David Welch, development and operations hydrologist with the National Weather Service Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center in Louisiana. “We had another low flow period in 2023 that broke records … just set the year before.” 

Compromising Competitiveness

Additionally, the Panama Canal has experienced low water levels during the last 12 months. Having both critical waterways compromised has raised shipping costs and hurt American farmers’ ability to compete for export markets against countries such as Brazil. In 2023, for the first time, Brazil exported more corn than the U.S.

Andrick Payen is a grains and oilseeds analyst with the agribusiness financial services provider Rabobank. He says that last October, when exports normally would start picking up, barge rates began increasing, as shippers contended with the low water levels. Yet, he notes the rates didn’t increase as much as in 2022, partially because demand was not as high. 

Payen blames high American prices and transportation costs for the U.S.’s competitive loss and lower exports.