Video - Shrinking Mississippi River Means Higher Prices

And From CNN: BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You might think this is some kind of desert just outside of Memphis. It`s not. I`m actually standing on the exposed bottom of the Mississippi River. That`s how dramatic the drought impact is being felt here. Hard to believe, a year ago we were talking about record flooding. Now, they are worried about a new kind of record: a record low. The river was three miles wide here, it`s now down to three tenths of a mile. And that`s causing all kinds of problems. There are some benefits, I mean, take a look over here: new beach front. In fact, some quip that now the Mississippi River has more beaches than the entire state of Florida, which would be funny if it didn`t have an impact on trade.

A lot of stuff we use goes up and down the Mississippi River. We are talking steel, coal, ore, grain. The problem is now a lot of those barges have had to lighten their loads, and even doing that, they are still running aground. There is a real fear that there could be a possibility of closing the Mississippi River. If that happens, well, all that product that used to be carried cheaply by barge is now going to be carried more expensively by truck or train. And guess who is going to pay for all of that.

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