River Elevator Swap Limits Competition
Illinois farmers are fortunate to have six options at harvest. The farmers can deliver directly to a soybean crushing facility, shuttle elevator, river elevator, container…
U.S. Soybean Container Exports Increasing
A major focus of U.S. ports is to increase the depth of the waterways to increase the size of container vessels that can call on…
Crop Barge Movements Still Below Normal
After being closed from March 16 through June 20 due to flooding, Lock and Dam 15 at the Quad Cities on the upper Mississippi River…
Despite River Constraints, Barge Rates Normal
Crop barge capacity is the number of covered barges in the fleet multiplied by the number of times the barge can be loaded minus other…
Brazil Rail Projects Impact Soybean Exports
On February 7, 2019, the Brazilian Supreme Court reinstated the National Land Transportation Agency’s (ANTT) authority to issue fines for anyone who does not pay…
Weaker Currency Offsetting Higher Brazilian Truck Freight Rates
One factor that will eventually help U.S. soybean farmers obtain a higher soybean price is higher Brazilian truck freight rates increasing the Brazilian soybean port…
Upper Mississippi River Open
As bad luck would have it, during the time period when the upper Mississippi River traditionally would open to barge traffic, the river reached flood…
Soybeans Trapped in Upper Mississippi River Region
As of June 1, no crop volume has transversed Lock 15 at the Quad Cities. Even in 1993, the average water level was below flood…
The Importance of Mississippi River to U.S. Farmers
The inland Mississippi River system plays a major role in transporting commodities; especially soybeans and corn. Approximately 60 percent of all grain inspected is exported…
Flooding Shows Value of U.S. Infrastructure
The Army Corps reported Mississippi River at Lock and Dam 15 Rock Island crested at 22.7 feet, a record high in the Quad Cities representing…