Dry weather creating gloomy barge conditions

What the Hellenic Shipping News service calls an “unusually low water level in the lower Mississippi River” is grinding barge traffic to a halt, affecting ferrous scrap shippers and steel mills among other customers.

The news service reported Oct. 7 that the low water level is “causing barges to get stuck in mud and sand, disrupting river travel for shippers, recreational boaters and even passengers on a cruise line.”

The conditions mirror those experienced during the summer by barge shippers in Europe, where the Rhine River network experienced similarly low water levels after a prolonged drought.

Along the Mississippi River, there have been record low levels of rain in parts of the watershed, and according to the U.S. Coast Guard, it has responded to at least eight ship grounding incidents in early October. Hellenic Shipping News says the groundings are occurring even though barges are operating with “low-water restrictions on barge loads.”

Any supply pinches caused by the Rhine River woes were not enough to revive ferrous scrap pricing in Europe or globally. Early October metals pricing service reports indicate mills in the U.S. have thus far not perceived a supply issue, with initial October bids made below September pricing, as domestic steel output remains muted.

A trade association board member quoted by Hellenic Shipping News says barge shippers might have difficulty finding alternatives. “Can they divert to rail?,” asks Lucy Fletcher of the Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals association. She replies to her own question by saying “Well, there’s not an abundance of rail availability. And, usually, people are booking their transportation for fall early in the season. So, if they haven’t booked that freight already, you’re going to see people in dire straits.”

Some shippers could have no alternative but to seek rail and trucking, however, with the Davis Index metals news service reporting Nashville, Tennessee-based Ingram Marine Group has declared force majeure in its barge business unit.

The River Conditions page of Ingram’s website points to low water conditions on the Ohio River and along the Mississippi River in Louisiana. Ingram writes that the “Harvey Lock is closed to marine traffic due to risk from reverse head conditions as a result of low water.” Numerous dredging operations also have closed sections of rivers.