…teamwork makes the dreamwork.
Summertime brings about some of my favorite things; the pool, the heat, and strawberries. But two of these things, plus a few others, can have quite a big effect on freight. As strawberries, corn, and other summer produce is harvested and transported across the US, quick demands for refrigeration become the priority.
But what about this weather
Though as brokers we do spend a lot of time inside, it’s been hard not to notice the amount of rain we’ve received this spring and summer. Back in May, sections of I-29 in Iowa and Missouri were shut down repeatedly after storms and flash flooding inundated the Midwest. By the end of the month, there were six different sections of interstate closed around Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas, while rail services were out all across the Midwest.
In St. Louis, the flood stage of the Mississippi River is 30 feet, but on June 6th it was at 45 feet.
The US Army Corp of Engineers suspended all barge traffic in and out of Little Rock and St. Louis until the river fell below 38 feet. As of July 2, it was at 37.6 ft.
What does this mean for our freight?
We won’t lie, it’s tricky out there in the Midwest right now. Though floodwaters are receding and roads are opening back up, Port Authorities in Little Rock estimate it could be another month or two before the ports are fully operational again. This means that trucks transporting grains for barge transport won’t have many loads to run any time soon. However, for other industries typically relying on barge or rail transport, they’ll turn to trucking. And we’ll be there to help.
No brokers. Just Fixers.
This unpredictable summer is when we get to prove ourselves. Whether it’s a pop-up-storm that delays a load, closed roads, or a bad detour, our brokers are there to fix the problems that arise.