The American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) has cut towing sizes on the Lower Mississippi by up to 14% on low water. The reactions to this reduction may have far-reaching effects that will play a drastic role in the region. The Mississippi River is a crucial transportation channel that allows energy companies to efficiently transport their products all over the world. The reduction in tow sizes is a direct result of climate change, as the region has seen significant reductions in rainfall that have placed the region in danger of reduced income for the vast number of companies operating in the region.
Climate change has finally begun to affect the midstream sector
Recent rainfall in the region has been a promising sign that the area might recover from droughts and climate change. The ACBL has been forced to reduce the tow sizes and amount of cargo that vessels can transport in the region. Navigating such a tight river is a challenge on its own, but being faced with reduced low water levels has impacted several companies in the area.
“The gauge at Memphis dropped to the low water threshold of minus-5 feet on Aug. 30. The last two years, the U.S. Coast Guard initiated a 9-foot draft requirement when river levels fall below the low water threshold. – Scott Stiles, extension economics program associate for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
The world is acutely aware that the climate crisis has had a disastrous effect on the midstream sector, but this new cut to towing sizes and cargo may have an adverse effect on a vast number of companies that make use of the Mississippi River. At the end of August, the river level was at minus 4.02 feet. On the first of September, the gauge dropped to minus 6 feet. The river rebounded slightly on Sept. 3 but declined below minus 6 feet by the next afternoon.
The Mississippi River has reached its lowest levels in history
Yes, that is correct. The Mississippi River reached a level of minus-11.91 feet on the Memphis gauge, which is the lowest since records began. A truly worrying sign of the times. The Ohio River feeds a significant amount of water into the lower Mississippi River, and the U.S. Drought Center said that “portions of the Ohio River Basin received only 25-75 percent of normal precipitation since June 11.”
The ACBL reduced the tow sizes by 9% to 14%, which represents a more proactive approach to maintaining acceptable water levels in the river, which is crucial to America’s economy as a whole. With several companies making significant changes to how they operate, the midstream sector is facing a new era.
“It looks like we will once again see some drastic, extreme low-water conditions on the Lower Mississippi River for the third year in a row. We’re at the stage right now we need to be in that proactive stage, and we need to bring these dredges up here and maintain the Lower Miss so we can move those farmers’ commodities to market.” – Marty Hettel of American Commercial Barge Line
What can the ACBL do to mitigate the risks faced by the reduction in tow sizes
Other than making significant proactive changes to the tow size, not much can be done to change what is taking place in the region. What could change the tow size and cargo amounts is significant, consistent rainfall. But nobody can expect the levels to change in the near future, as the American summer is upon us. Regardless of the proactive measures put in place by the ACBL, the market will react accordingly, and the hope will be for more rainfall to come in the not-too-distant future.
