Low water level on Mississippi River hurts US grain shipping
New York (AFP) - A lack of rainfall in the central United States has brought the mighty Mississippi River to its lowest depth in years, causing headaches for shippers and squeezing farmers who rely on the busy waterway to take their product to the Gulf of Mexico. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the river's depth at shipping hub Memphis, Tennessee, is at its lowest level since 2011. "Normally at this time of year we would see 40-plus barges moving in a tow configuration pushed by (a) towboat," said Deb Calhoun, senior vice president of Waterways Council, a US river infrastructure ...