Barge Dashboard

Barges traversing the Mississippi River System deliver approximately 90 percent of the grain exported through the Mississippi Gulf port region. USDA collects grain barge volumes from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Lock Performance Monitoring System (LPMS) each week. These data show the movement of grain through the locking portions of the Mississippi River System: Mississippi River Locks 27, Ohio River Olmsted Locks and Dam, and Arkansas River Lock 1. Use the filters to view the average weekly and monthly data by date, lock, or commodity. 

USDA collects weekly spot barge rates for grain shipments at select locations along the Mississippi River System. The U.S. Inland Waterways utilize a percent of tariff system as a unit for setting barge freight rates. The barge rate is determined as a percentage of the 1976 benchmark tariff, per ton.