FORT SMITH, Ark. — Tonnage shipped on the Arkansas River during the first five months of 2021 is up 0.54% compared with the same period of 2020, with inbound and outbound traffic boosting activity on the more than 400-mile navigable waterway.
River traffic was beginning to improve from record historic flooding in early 2019 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the economy in early 2020.
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.
Tonnage shipped on the river during the first five months of 2021 totaled 4.304 million tons, up 0.54% compared with the 4.281 million tons during the same period in 2020.
May shipments totaled 855,752 tons, down from the 872,557 tons in May 2020.
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