LA CROSSE (WPR) Shipping traffic is down dramatically this year on the upper Mississippi River from last year at this time. 

Outbound commodity shipments, such as grains, are off more than 50%  according to Kent Pehler.  He’s the CEO of Brennan Marine.  The company provides services to barge lines in the port of La Crosse.  Pehler says inbound commodities like coal are down 30%.

Pehler says the slow down has forced them to make layoffs to their vessel crews and operations for the first time in 30 years. Pehler says the slowdown began at the start of this season, volume dropped to the point where there was little or no work and they were forced to lay people off.

With only five weeks left in the shipping season, Pehler says he doesn’t see signs of things improving anytime soon.  He expects much of the same when the season starts up again next spring.

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Information from Wisconsin Public Radio, www.wpr.org