Editors' Notebook

OMAHA (DTN) -- High water and flooding is affecting barge transport on the Mississippi River, closing locks and making the implementation of high water restrictions likely.

The Twin Cities District of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) is where the river crested last week, but operations are still being affected. As of July 2, the river there was at 16.15 feet and is expected to drop below minor flood stage of 14 feet by July 5, barring any more heavy rain events. Upper Mississippi River miles 847.6 - 853.8, Lock and Dam No. 1, Lower St. Anthony Falls, and Upper St. Anthony Falls are still closed to navigation due to high flows. The Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul recorded the second wettest June on record with 11.35 inches; the wettest June was recorded in 1874 of 11.67 inches.

Barges unable to load in the UMR have been parked down river until water levels are safe enough to place them at terminals in the St. Paul District. On June 27, the USACE closed Lock 17 on the middle Mississippi River in New Boston, Illinois due to high water. This was followed by a closure of Lock 16 in Muscatine, Ill., on June 30, Lock 18 in Gladstone, Ill., on July 1 and Lock and Dam 12 and 20 on July 2. Barges in that area looking for loads may have to head up the Illinois River instead if it is feasible to do so and barge lines report that Illinois River freight values are dropping as barge lines head into Illinois with empties. The water levels at these locks became so high that it washed over the gates, making it nearly impossible to safely allow any vessels to pass through. More of the locks in Rock Island District may be closed if water levels become too high and closures are expected to last one week to ten days. Here is the link to the Locks and Dams in the Rock Island District: http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/…

High water levels will be troublesome further down river and barges will be subject to high water restrictions as they head south to the Gulf. Water levels in St. Louis on July 2 are at 25.17 feet and are expected to rise to 29.1 feet by July 9. Minor flood stage in St. Louis is 30 feet above zero gauge. Here is the link for the daily river stages at St. Louis, Mo.

http://water.weather.gov/…

BNSF REPORTS IMPROVEMENTS; CP PROVIDES SERVICE UPDATE

In his June 27 podcast, BNSF Ag Group Vice President John Miller reported average shuttle turns per month went to 2.2 TPM vs. 2.4 the prior week. System wide, the BNSF dropped to 28.2 days late vs. 31.2 days late the prior week and past due cars dropped to 8,429 vs. 9,175 the prior week. South Dakota saw the biggest decrease in days late, going from 23.9 the prior week, to 10 days late for the week of June 27 and past due cars dropped to 233 vs. 316 the prior week. Minnesota went from 18.8 days late to 13.2 days late and past due cars rose to 997 from 845 the prior week partially due to the flooding in southern Minnesota. Montana days late rose to 32.2 vs. 31.5 the prior week and past due cars dropped to 1,549 from 1,798 the prior week.

North Dakota days late rose to 32.2 vs. 31.2 the prior week and past due cars dropped to 4.953 vs. 5,133. Miller reported in the podcast that repairs to the Bisbee, N.D., to Bottineau branch line were finally completed and shippers along that line were receiving equipment. Miller said, "We will continue to focus on these lines after extended outages, as there remains old crop that needs to move from these facilities." Here is the link to the BNSF June 27 service report to the STB: http://goo.gl/…

In the U.S., the BNSF reported that service was restored June 27th on the line between Mitchell, S.D., and Sioux Falls, S.D., after being affected by high water. In their June 27 service announcement on their website, they stated, "As we reported last week, this time of year typically brings with it rain and high winds caused by spring storms. Our meteorologists continue to monitor weather events all across our network and have indicated potential flooding conditions exist in a few areas."

The Canadian Pacific Railroad also provided a service update to the U,S, Surface Transportation Board on June 27, finally giving the public a glimpse of past due cars and how far behind they are in providing those cars to U.S. shippers. In the report, CP said it had increased U.S. grain loadings by 27% since April and it is committed to moving "as much grain as possible" on its U.S. network. The report said, "There may be a backlog demand of up to approximately 10,000 to 12,000 cars on our railroad." Car requests are adding up as well. The CP reported there is a "total cumulative open order request" for 23,818 cars in North Dakota, 8,426 in Minnesota and 985 in Iowa, and the average age of open requests is 9.02 weeks. Here is a link to the CP June 27 service report to the STB: http://goo.gl/…

RAINS IN CANADA AFFECTING RAIL

As of Monday, June 30, there were 24 municipalities in Manitoba and 16 areas of southeastern Saskatchewan that were in a state of local emergency due to heavy rains causing overland flooding. Railroad operations have also been affected, causing slowdowns and stoppages due to soft tracks and/or washouts.

The CN reported on their website July 2, "Unusually heavy rain impacted CN operations in Western Canada over the weekend. A number of branch lines suspended operations on Sunday, June 29, and are due to reopen by mid-day on Monday, June 30. In particular, operations in the Canora/Humboldt area were significantly affected. In addition, some branch lines in southeastern Saskatchewan have seen high water levels and at least one washout. Consequently, local service to customers located along these branch lines may be delayed."

"In addition, speed restrictions along portions of the Rivers subdivision of the CN main line, between Winnipeg, MB, and Melville, SK, may cause some delays to through traffic. CN's facility in Melville, SK, is affected by some localized flooding. CN has deployed special equipment to affected locations and, wherever possible, is diverting affected traffic in order to minimize further delays to customer shipments."

"Speed restrictions remain in effect along the Sprague and Fort Frances subdivisions. As a result, trains running between Winnipeg, MB, and our Ranier, MN, border crossing are operating with some delays. We will post further information on the State of the Railroad web page as soon as it becomes available." Here is the link to the CN service updates: http://goo.gl/…

In the U.S., the BNSF reported that service was restored June 27th on the line between Mitchell, S.D., and Sioux Falls, S.D., after being affected by high water. In their June 27 service announcement on their website, they stated, "As we reported last week, this time of year typically brings with it rain and high winds caused by spring storms. Our meteorologists continue to monitor weather events all across our network and have indicated potential flooding conditions exist in a few areas."

Mary Kennedy can be reached at mary.kennedy@dtn.com

Follow Mary Kennedy on Twitter @MaryCKenn

© Copyright 2014 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.