Arkansas River commercial tonnage up almost 20% in June

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by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) ago 28 views 

Tonnage shipped on the Arkansas River in June totaled 716,127 tons, up 19.4% compared with 599,946 tons in June 2025. The June traffic followed an unusual 50% tonnage gain in May and a 32.5% jump in April.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported 5.589 million tons shipped on the river between January and June, up 11.6% compared with 5.007 million in the same period of 2025. The January-June gain follows a 2025 in which tonnage was down 19.5% compared with 2024.

The January through June gain is driven entirely by increased shipments between ports on the Arkansas River system. Much of that increase is driven by an almost 59% year-to-date increase of sand, gravel and rock shipments.

Inbound shipments in the first six months totaled 1.808 million tons, down 12.8% compared with the same period in 2025. The period had 1.724 million tons in outbound shipments, down 5.8% compared with the same period in 2025. Internal shipments — those sent between port operations on the river — totaled 2.055 million tons in the first four months, up 86.6% compared with the same period in 2025.

Following are the top categories of products shipped on the river in the first six months of 2026, with the percentage change from the same period in 2025.

  • Sand, gravel, rock: 2.177 million tons (up 58.7%)
  • Chemical fertilizer: 1.012 million tons (down 16.2%)
  • Iron and steel: 510,960 tons (down 9.4%)
  • Soybeans: 423,172 tons (up 10.8%)
  • Minerals and building materials: 357,600 tons (down 5.2%)

TONNAGE HISTORY, RIVER INFO
River shipments totaled 10.011 million tons in 2025, down 19.5% compared with 12.446 million tons in 2024.

Inbound shipments in 2025 — those coming from off the river system — totaled 3.461 million tons, down 8.75% compared with the same period in 2024. Outbound shipments totaled 3.455 million tons, down 27.5% compared with the same period in 2024. Internal shipments — those sent between port operations on the river — totaled 3.094 million tons, down 20.3%.

Not counting the historic flooding of 2019 that halted river shipping for months, 2025 river tonnage was the lowest in the past 10 years. Following are the past 10 years of tonnage numbers, according to the Corps.
2025: 10.011 million
2024: 12.446 million
2023: 12.206 million
2022: 11.011 million
2021: 10.696 million
2020: 10.322 million
2019: 8.48 million
2018: 10.932 million
2017: 11.918 million
2016: 11.542 million

The Arkansas River system — McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS) — 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 in Arkansas and Muskogee and the Tulsa Port of Catoosa in Oklahoma.

According to the Arkansas Waterways Commission, the average annual freight tonnage on the MKARNS is approximately 12 million tons. On land, 381,857 semi-trucks or 99,283 railcars would be required to ship the same amount.