USDA unveiled a new study detailing the importance of inland waterways to U.S. agriculture and the economic benefits that additional investments could yield.
The study, prepared by Informa Agribusiness Intelligence, found the U.S. inland waterways system employed nearly 256,000 Americans and contributed $27.2 billion to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016. It determined that additional investments totaling $6.3 billion over the next 10 years and $0.4 billion per year thereafter would see inland waterways contribute $64.6 billion to U.S. GDP by 2045, and employ some 472,000 people.
The study considered the impact of dredging the lower Mississippi River from Baton Rouge through New Orleans and the Southwest Pass into the Gulf of Mexico. It found the project - along with other waterway investments - would increase the market value of corn and soybeans by $39 billion by 2045 compared with the status quo of no additional investments, including new dredging.
“Water transport is the most efficient, cost-effective transportation for our producers, and our waterways keep the American exporter the most competitive in the world," USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement accompanying the report.
"President Trump has made it a priority to revitalize our nation’s infrastructure and invest in our rural communities, and his goal to reestablish America’s economic prowess on the global stage can be furthered by rebuilding our waterways to support agriculture exports. We must continue to invest in modernizing our lock and dam infrastructure that flows through the heartland of agricultural production," he concluded.
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