JOC Staff | Nov 30, 2012 12:36PM EST
The American Waterways Operators and Waterways Council continue to warn the federal government of the detrimental economic effects of further restrictions or possible closure of the Mississippi River to barge traffic, today stressing the risk to regional jobs and wages.
States along the river would see an immediate impact on jobs and wages, they said, but the toll would be harshest in Louisiana, Illinois and Missouri, with thousands of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in wages at risk in December and January alone.
Louisiana stands to lose 7,151 jobs and $42.1 million of wages; Illinois could lose 6,652 jobs and $50.3 million of wages, and 2,941 jobs and $19.9 million of wages are at risk in Missouri.
