According to today's USDA Grain Transportation Report, on April 24, American Commercial Barge Line reported it had no boats on the Upper Mississippi River above St. Louis, MO, because of flooding conditions and lock closures.
Currently, above Lock 17 (which is near New Boston, IL), all locks and dams are closed, and no freight is being accepted along the Twin Cities and Mid-Mississippi portions of the river.
The locks and dams are expected to stay closed for the next 3 weeks.
Also, around May 5, as far south as Lock 22 (located near Saverton, MO) locks and dams could potentially be forced to close and stay closed for approximately 2 weeks, because of possible high water.
The closures and slower-than-normal export grain sales have resulted in below-normal barge freight rates (GTR table 8). In turn, low barge rates may lead some companies to reduce the number of barges they have in service.