News

Cold snap impedes agriculture transportation

The cold snap has slowed shipping on some of the country’s inland waterways and railroads. The February deep freeze has resulted in more ice on rivers, according to Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition.

“Ice will naturally form from the shoreline and it’ll continue to spread to the middle part of the river,” Steenhoek told Brownfield Ag News. “That essentially narrows the navigation channel.”

The chill has also hampered rail movement because it makes air brakes less effective, said Steenhoek.

“The result of that is that railroads have to shorten the length of their trains,” he said. “They maintain the same amount of locomotive power, but they have to remove freight cars from that unit.”

Rail carriers, said Steenhoek, have told customers to expect seasonal delays because of the cold.