Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI)

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Flooded roads, rails limit Midwest shipping

Friday June 13, 6:25 pm ET

By Samantha Bomkamp and Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Business Writers

Flooded roads, rails limiting shipments, manufacturing in the Midwest

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080613/flooding_industry.html?.v=2

Flooding in the Midwest has swelled rivers and submerged roads and rails, halting or delaying shipments of food, fuel and other goods. Manufacturers also have been forced to suspend production of everything from oatmeal to pork products.

At the earliest, barge, road and rail traffic will get back to normal next week. But companies are focused on getting through the weekend, when at least one river is expected to crest at nearly 32 feet, making it possible that the transportation snags could drag on.

Union Pacific Corp., the nation's biggest freight railroad, currently has six mainline tracks out of service that carry freight through Iowa. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. is experiencing delays along its key routes along the Mississippi River -- from Ft. Madison, Iowa, to Memphis, Tenn.

A bridge over the Cedar River has collapsed, and another owned by Union Pacific is being monitored for possible washout. Several more are under water. The shutdowns are expected to last about a week, but warned further delays are possible.

Flooding in Iowa and Wisconsin also is affecting Amtrak service on two major western routes from Chicago to San Francisco and Seattle. Some service also is suspended between Chicago and Denver, spokesman Mark Magliari said. Amtrak is providing alternative service by bus and train in some areas, but not in Iowa, at least through the weekend. Major lines to Wisconsin and some parts of Minnesota have been suspended since Tuesday.

The situation is slightly better for trucks, which can more easily redirect cargo shipments to alternate routes.

David L. Miller, chief operating officer for Con-way Freight, said regional service has been shut down or delayed through virtually all the flooded areas. He expects service to be nearly restored by Monday, as freight is transferred to other routes.

Both FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. also said delays should be minimal. Barring any further severe weather, both shippers expect to return to normal operations by early next week.

As shipments are delayed across the country, the floods also have caused shutdowns at several food processing plants in Iowa, including a Quaker Oats facility in Cedar Rapids and two Tyson Foods Inc. pork facilities.

Quaker Oats, a unit of PepsiCo, Inc., makes its signature oatmeal cereals at the Cedar Rapids plant, which employs 1,100 people, spokeswoman P.J. Sinopoli said.

A nearby distribution facility has not been affected. "We have ample inventory on hand at this point to meet customer needs," she said, adding that the company is reassessing the situation daily.

Cedar Rapids is one of the worst-hit areas, with the Cedar River expected to crest at 31.8 feet on Friday. In a 1993 flood, considered the worst in recent history, it was at nearly 19.3 feet.

"There is no business ... near downtown Cedar Rapids that isn't completely shut down," Sinopoli said.

Meanwhile, barge operator American Commercial Lines Inc. said flooding on the Mississippi River will cause several lock closures, which could last about two weeks, and more flooding over the weekend is expected to create delays around St. Louis. Conditions on the Illinois River have stabilized and normal operations have resumed, but a wet forecast could affect service this weekend, the Jeffersonville, Ind.-based company said on its Web site.

The railroad industry has been particularly hard it.

-- Norfolk Southern Corp. expects flooding to shut down service through Hannibal, Mo., this weekend. The company plans to reroute service on the line through St. Louis.

-- Canadian National Railway Co. currently has two sections of rail out of service in Iowa, and spokesman Bryan Tucker said a portion of a mainline track carrying cargo to Chicago washed out early Friday. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. has shut its mainline through Wisconsin, which carries freight from Canada to Chicago.

"We're at the mercy of the weather at the moment, as is everybody else," said Canadian Pacific spokesman Mike LoVecchio.

AP Business Writer Samantha Bomkamp reported from New York and Christopher S. Rugaber reported from Washington.