Impacts of Drought on Barge Traffic and Grain Exports from the U.S., 2022 to 2023

The U.S. is a major global exporter of grains, much of which travel by barge down the Mississippi River from the Midwest to New Orleans. This efficient transport system is key to the country’s competitiveness. This article examines the impacts of drought on southbound flows of grains in 2022 to 2023, when river levels reached dramatic lows, causing barge and grain storage bottlenecks. The array of transportation modes in the American Heartland (barge, rail, trucking), as well as storage capabilities, have led to a surprising resiliency of grain supply chains and a continued ability for the U.S. to compete in global grain markets.