drought News Updates

Government, Business, Safety, Logistics

Mississippi River Dries Up Again at Worst Time for Farmers

The Mississippi River is suffering from low waters for the third straight autumn, a crucial time of year when American farmers rely on the route to deliver their crops to the world.

October 25, 2024
Government, Business, Safety, Logistics

Drought Shrivels Mississippi River, Threatening Food Exports

Drought across the central U.S. is shrinking the Mississippi River, sending barge rates soaring and threatening to roil shipments of everything from corn to gasoline.

September 5, 2024
Business, Logistics

Drought Threatens to Snarl Mississippi River Traffic Again

The Mississippi River is at risk of bottlenecks for a third straight year as warm, dry spring weather and low winter snowpack limit the amount of water feeding into it.

March 21, 2024
Government, Business, Logistics

Panama Canal’s Drought Traffic Dip Could Cost $700 Million

PANAMA CITY — A severe drought that began last year has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes.

January 18, 2024
Business, Logistics

Midwest Rivers’ Falling Water Levels Raise Shipping Concerns

Water levels on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers are falling for a second straight year, raising the prospect of shipping problems along the all-important U.S. freight routes.

July 14, 2023
Business, Safety

Mississippi River Drought Closes Portion of Waterway Again

Drought has again closed a portion of the Mississippi River — and this time shrunk a part of the major U.S. waterway in Memphis, Tenn., to its lowest level ever.

October 18, 2022
Business, Logistics

Drought Worsens Across Midwest as Mississippi River Dwindles

A drought is spreading across the Midwest, drying up the Mississippi River and its tributaries that serve as a critical freight artery for the country.

October 13, 2022
Business, Logistics

Mississippi Barge Backup Stalls Millions of Tons of Cargo

Prolonged drought is jeopardizing waterborne trade along the Mississippi River, a basin that produces 92% of the nation’s agricultural exports.

October 7, 2022
Business, Logistics

Dwindling Mississippi River Grounds Barges, Threatens Shipments

A logjam of more than 100 ships, tugboats and their convoys of barges in the shrinking Mississippi River is threatening to grind trade of grains, fertilizer, metals and petroleum to a halt.

October 6, 2022
Business

Barge Owners Cite Concerns of Drought on Mississippi River Traffic

Mississippi River barge operators said the worst drought in 80 years may put at risk the emergency dredging and rock removal aimed at keeping the nation’s busiest waterway open at least through this month, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.

January 8, 2013