This article has been reprinted from the Jan. 31 USDA Grain Transportation Report.
Historic cold weather throughout the Midwest has caused significant ice accumulations on the Illinois River, making navigation difficult in some locations.
As of January 29, American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) reports that most marine operations on the Illinois River have stopped due to low temperatures and ice buildup.
ACBL has observed that the lack of continuous barge traffic on the Illinois River is causing the channels to freeze back over prior to the next towboat arriving through the impacted channels.
The Illinois River is typically open most of the winter, except under the most severe conditions.
Before the drastic cold temperatures, down-bound grain movements at Illinois River La Grange Lock and Dam were 704 thousand tons for the first 4 weeks of 2019, 10 percent higher than the 5-year average.
There have been considerable increases in corn and wheat shipments at La Grange, however, soybean tonnages have decreased.