A glut of idled river barges clogging Mississippi River shorelines from St. Louis to New Orleans is leaving U.S. barge companies that haul grain, coal, steel and other bulk goods counting their losses.
Even with record-large exports of corn and soybeans, typically a boon for shippers that haul grain to Gulf Coast export terminals, the collapse of coal shipments to the lowest levels in decades has left the dry bulk barge fleet chasing too little cargo.
In pursuit of rising grain volumes since 2014, many shippers expanded their fleets too quickly.
Barge lease rates paid to companies like Archer Daniels Midland Co.’s (NYSE:ADM) American River Transportation Company, privately held Ingram Barge and a handful of smaller operators are at 1-1/2-month lows and more than 30 percent below the five-year average for February.
Trump Proposes $54 Billion Defense Spending Increase
President Trump will propose a federal budget that dramatically increases defense-related spending by $54 billion while cutting other federal agencies by the same amount, according to an administration official.
The proposal represents a massive increase in federal spending related to national security, while other priorities, especially foreign aid, will see significant reductions. How quickly that increase will turn into downstream metals purchases for defense contractors remains to be seen.