June 17, 2008
US floods disrupt grain transport channels
Recent floods in the US Midwest are driving barge lines to cost US$1 million a day and will likely disrupt railroads for months, industry executives said Monday (June 16, 2008).
Around 300 miles of the Mississippi River has been closed following the worst flooding in the Midwest in 15 years.
The Mississippi River is the main channel for grain flowing from Midwest farms to the export terminals at the Gulf of Mexico.
In 2006, the river transported 68 million tonnes of US agricultural goods.
Diana Klemme, vice president of Grain Services Corp., an agricultural brokerage and risk management firm, said it may turn out that the biggest disruptions come from rail rather than the barge side.
Klemme said that authorities do not know yet what conditions the bridges and tracks are in.
Barge traffic is expected to resume in two to three weeks as water levels drop and the government reinstalls electrical equipment.
