This article has been reprinted from the Dec. 19 USDA Grain Transportation Report.
Multiple lock facilities are currently closed or plan to close before the end of the year to do repair work or accommodate the winter freezes.
On the Mississippi River, Locks 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 15, 18, 24, and 25 will all shut down through mid-March. Lock 19 closed December 15 to repair a guard gate and will reopen on February 28.
Because large frozen portions of the river above these locks are already inactive for the winter, these closures should have minimal effect on grain traffic.
Lock 27, south of St. Louis, will close for 9 hours on December 19.
Several locks in the New Orleans region will have closures or size restrictions that can slow traffic, particularly for large tows.
Two lock facilities on the upper Ohio River will also close, though food and farm products represent only a small share of traffic in that span of the river.