Importance of Inland Waterways to U.S. Agriculture

Report Introduction: The inland waterways system facilitates a strong U.S. economy, providing safe, cost-effective and environmentally friendly transportation of agricultural products and other goods, such as coal, petroleum and chemicals, for export and import and for domestic consumption. Informa’s Agribusiness Consulting has been retained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service to document and quantify the importance of the waterways system to the U.S. economy, specifically to U.S. agriculture. U.S. agriculture depends on an efficient and reliable infrastructure system to move grains, soybeans, and other products to the global market place. The United States has been the envy of the world with a robust and expansive transportation infrastructure. However, that infrastructure has aged over time. An aging and less reliable inland waterways infrastructure has resulted in lower effective transportation capacity. That lower capacity leads to higher freight rates for other modes. Those higher freight rates decrease farmer returns, leading to lower economic activity. Finally, without infrastructure investment, the farmer and the agribusiness sector are less competitive globally. Thus, to be competitive in the global marketplace, the U.S. farmer and U.S. agriculture need a reliable transportation infrastructure system, including a well-functioning inland waterways system.