Mississippi Drought Drives Shipping To Inadequate Rail Carriers
Via the American Prospect, yet another looming supply chain crisis brought on by climate change and corporate greed:
Last month, rail barons turned to Washington to avert a rail strike that could have brought the economy to a halt. Out on the Mississippi River though, depleted rail service has fueled a separate economic catastrophe.
A historic drought on the river has shuttered the critical node of barge transportation, leaving farmers and other shippers searching for alternative options to get their goods to port before winter. From the waterhead in Minnesota down to the port in New Orleans, barges deliver over 60 percent of corn and soybean exports and around $100 billion worth of cargo every year, including fuel, grain, industrial chemicals, and building materials.
The railroads don’t have adequate capacity to serve these shippers, in large part because of recent downsizing measures, including worker layoffs, to boost short-term profits for shareholders. As a result, shipping prices have jumped and capacity has cratered. The collapse of markets served by the Mississippi is creating exactly the situation that politicians warned against for the country at large when a strike loomed on the horizon: a potential crisis for the smooth flow of commerce. This one can’t be blamed on rail workers, however: It falls squarely on the companies themselves.