U.S. INLAND BARGE FLEET CONTINUES DECLINE
The U.S. inland barge fleet continues to shrink, down almost 1,200 units from four years ago, according to a report released March 10 by Sparks Cos.
Sparks’ annual report, the “Barge Fleet Profile,” said that while more than 500 new barges were added to the nation’s fleet last year, barge operators retired more than double that amount.
Sparks, based in Memphis, provides agriculture, food industry, agribusiness and commodity research, information, analysis and consulting to industry. The firm gathers information for its reports through an annual survey of barge operators and from the Army Corps of Engineers.
The company’s report identifies the line haul, commodity-carrying fleet of inland barges operating on the Mississippi River system, its connecting waterways, and the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway.
The report includes covered barge movements of grains, oilseeds, fertilizers, steel and other products. Open barge commodities, included in the report, are coal, sand, gravel and related cargoes. The report also provides details on tank barges that transport liquid products.
In report also summarizes the size and average of age of the fleet by operator for each type of barge.
The complete report is available online at http://www.bargefleet.com.