{
  "id": "RL32401",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32401",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101165,
      "date": "2004-05-26",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T20:15:19.767205",
      "title": "Agriculture as a Source of Barge Demand on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers: Background and Issues",
      "summary": "Five of the nation\u2019s top agricultural production states -- Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota,\nMissouri, and\nWisconsin -- have traditionally relied on the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway\n(UMR-IWW) navigation system as their principal conduit for export-bound agricultural products --\nmostly bulk corn and soybeans. The low-cost, high-volume capability of barge transportation has\nlong provided an important competitive advantage for U.S. agricultural products in international\nmarkets. Agricultural barge freight on the UMR-IWW grew rapidly for several decades in the\npost-WWII era, but has leveled off since the early 1980s. There is disagreement over the cause for\nthis lack of growth in barge demand.\n \n Shipping and agricultural interests argue that stagnant UMR-IWW barge traffic is due to delays\nassociated with aging infrastructure and limited lock capacity; that delays are increasingly forcing\ngrain shippers to switch to alternate transportation modes to ensure timely arrival at down-river\nprocessing plants or Gulf ports; that the declining efficiency of the UMR-IWW is hurting both U.S.\nCompetitiveness in international markets and U.S. farm incomes at home; and that investment is\nneeded to modernize and expand the capacity of the locks. \n \n Other interest groups contend that growth in domestic demand, as well as international market\nconditions, have changed substantially since the period of rapid growth in barge demand experienced\nduring the 1960s and 1970s. Changes in the shape and origin of international demand and supply,\nan increasing number of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, and other factors have resulted\nin the emergence of new trade routes for agricultural commodities that have drawn exportable\nsupplies of corn and soybeans away from the UMR-IWW system. \n \n Recent trade patterns, coupled with USDA\u2019s long-run market outlook, suggest that U.S.\ncorn\nand soybean exports may increasingly turn to overland trade routes to access growing Asian markets\n(via the Pacific Northwest), as well as to nearby markets in Mexico and Canada. In addition,\nexpected strong competition from South American producers, particularly in global soybean and\nproduct markets, may lead to a refocusing of U.S. exports away from Atlantic-rim markets and\ntoward Canadian, Mexican, and possibly Asian markets, where geography offers some competitive\nadvantages. If these expectations are realized, then growth in future barge demand from the\nagricultural sector may be well below levels anticipated by proponents of large-scale investments\nin the UMR-IWW.\n \n This report provides background on the linkage between U.S. agriculture and the UMR-IWW\nnavigation system. In addition, it explores several of the key issues and uncertainties behind\nevolving trade patterns and projections for future agricultural freight traffic on the UMR-IWW\nnavigation system. This report will be updated as events warrant.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL32401",
          "sha1": "645a983ade639666c0d97e3bec2629f5b79825f8",
          "filename": "files/20040526_RL32401_645a983ade639666c0d97e3bec2629f5b79825f8.pdf",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20040526_RL32401_645a983ade639666c0d97e3bec2629f5b79825f8.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Agricultural Policy"
  ]
}