Arkansas River tonnage up 19% through June, inbound shipments up 38%

Tonnage on the Arkansas River totaled 6.297 million tons between January and June, up 19%, with inbound traffic on the navigable water up 38% in the first six months, according to the U.S. Corps of Engineers.

Inbound shipments – those coming from off the river system – totaled 2.566 million tons during the first half of 2023, up 38% compared with the same period in 2022. Outbound shipments in the first six months totaled 1.966 million tons, up 11% compared with the same period in 2022. Internal shipments – those sent between port operations on the river – totaled 1.734 million tons in the first six months, up 8% compared with the 2022 period.

June tonnage of 1.073 million tons was up 7.8% compared with June 2022.

Marty Shell, president of Van Buren-based Five Rivers Distribution and a member of the Arkansas Waterways Commission, said the second quarter was good and he expects the activity to continue into the third quarter.

“We have had a good shipment of inbound feed for poultry and beef and the steel shipments have been good as well. Barge freight pricing has fallen some and river conditions for 2023 have been very good as well. Third quarter will see the start of grain movements south and we will start seeing an increase in inbound feeds and fertilizer,” said Shell, who also operates the Port of Fort Smith.

Shell said Five Rivers has built two warehouses for the anticipated volume increases and are working toward annual business growth between 7% and 12%.

Jodi Pryor, general manager of Logistic Services Inc. at the Port of Little Rock, said the first half has been busy, with the remainder of the year likely to slow because of work on the Illinois River waterway.

“Tonnage will drop some the second half due to the Illinois River being shut down for about three months for lock repairs. Some barges should stack up on the other side, though, and once the river is open, barges will come on down the Arkansas,” Pryor noted. “Our commodity increases have been in both bulk and breakbulk. Namely, pet coke, fertilizer, bauxite, wetcake, aluminum, and coils. Inbound barges have increased more than outbound.”

Following are the top five shipment categories by tonnage in the first six months of 2023, with the percentage change from the same period in 2022.
• Sand, gravel, rock: 1.939 million tons (up 9%)
• Chemical fertilizer: 1.666 million tons (up 63%)
• Iron & steel: 701,000 tons (up 26%)
• Wheat: 485,036 tons (down 13%)
• Minerals and building materials: 402,152 tons (up 17%)

Tonnage in 2022 totaled 11.011 million tons, up 2.94% compared with 2021. Inbound shipments – those coming from off the river system – totaled 3.463 million tons during 2022, down 12.1% compared with the same period in 2021. Outbound shipments totaled 3.957 million tons, up 16.6% compared with 2021. Internal shipments – those sent between port operations on the river – totaled 3.591 million tons, up 6.8% compared with 2021.

River traffic in recent years has struggled through historic flooding and an economic slowdown induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. River tonnage in 2019 totaled just 8.48 million tons, down 22% from 2018. But tonnage was up 22% in 2020 to 10.322 million tons

The Arkansas River system is 445 miles long and stretches from the confluence of the Mississippi River to the Port of Catoosa near Tulsa, Okla. The controlled waterway has 18 locks and dams, with 13 in Arkansas and five in Oklahoma. The river also has five commercial ports: Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Fort Smith, Muskogee, Okla., and the Tulsa Port of Catoosa in Oklahoma.