Grain shipments to GC at standstill

Grain-barge shipments were at a standstill across parts of the Midwest on Feb. 22. Heavy rain and melting snow is swelling rivers, halting loading, and sidelining towboats from shipping Farm Belt crops to Gulf Coast (GC) export terminals. The flooding sent cash premiums soaring for corn barge deliveries to the Gulf Coast. Barge lines suspended operations on the Illinois River, where water levels were likely to reach record crests this weekend, according to National Weather Service. Upstream grain exporters rely on inland rivers to transport farm products to terminals on the Gulf Coast. About 60 percent of all U.S. grain exports exit the country via the Gulf of Mexico. (Source: Hellenic Shipping News 02/24/18)