It is reported that due to the severe drought in the Midwest of the United States, the water level of the Mississippi River has dropped to the lowest level in ten years, which led to the closure of part of the river section of the important U.S. waterway and hindering the transportation of goods.
The Mississippi River is more than 6,000 kilometers in length. It is the longest and largest river in the United States. It has flowed through 31 states in the United States. It is also one of the fourth -long river in the world and one of the most busy commercial waterways in the world.
In the past week, the U.S. Army Engineering Corps has been dredging some rivers to deepen the channel, making the transportation of ships unblocked again. However, the shutdown of the channel has caused a large -scale stagnation of the supply chain that has been in trouble.
The United States Coast Guard reported that due to the shutdown of the channel, as of the 7th local time, 144 ships and 2253 rebar have been waiting in line to wait for navigation, and the low water level also led to 8 rebar.
It is also estimated that even if the sailing recovery, the ship will be forced to carry 20%of the cargo than normal under normal circumstances, and due to narrowing the channel, the number of ships passed at once will decrease.
The National Food and Feed Association said that due to the decrease in the number of shipments at each sailing and the decrease in the amount of carrier loaded by each ship, the capacity of the barge on the Mississippi River has decreased by about 50%, which led to the soaring freight paid by the shipper. Members of the association said that the shipping costs reached a record level.
The impact of the Mississippi River's continuous low water level is threatening the trade along the river. The transportation of agricultural products, fertilizers, metals, and oil is seriously affected. According to the U.S. Army Engineering Corps, the Mississippi River transports 589 million tons of goods each year and saves $ 12.5 billion in transportation costs each year.
Recently, Ingram, the largest barge operator in the United States, told customers that it would not be able to deliver on time. As the low water level disrupted the normal operation of the river through the river, the cargo transportation encountered force majeure.
The shipper turned to find goods such as transportation metal, agricultural products, and fertilizer. Some companies postponed the original shipping transportation plan until the situation improved. It is reported that NUCOR CORP, the largest steel manufacturer in the United States, will not intend to transport steel by refuge in the next few weeks to avoid retention of goods and ensure that delivery is on time.
However, the shipper has seen the rise in railway and truck transportation costs. At present, enterprises need to pay additional fees through railway and truck transportation steel, aluminum and other goods, although their costs are already five or 5 times that of shipments.
The U.S. Soy Transportation Alliance pointed out that the navigation river can transport heavy goods such as soybeans and grains in an economical way. According to normal water level conditions, the freight capacity of a trailer with 15 towed ships is the same as 940 trucks.
In addition, the shipper's turn to railway or truck transportation also means that the congestion of land traffic in the United States will intensify. It is reported that the increase in the demand for trucks is not time. The employment report in September shows that the number of employment in the truck transportation industry has declined significantly.
Some agricultural retailers told the media that despite the delays of the river that caused some consignors to use railways or trucks, due to the problem of supply chain after the epidemic, some transportation tools were basically booked and unavailable.
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