Tonnage shipped on the Arkansas River in 2024 totaled 12.446 million tons, up 1.95% compared with 2023 tonnage. The increase was driven by a 13% increase in sand, gravel, rock shipments, and 8% and 41% gains, respectively, in wheat and soybean shipments.

December tonnage was 1.01 million tons, below the 1.032 million tons in December 2023, according to a report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

However, river activity surged in the fourth quarter with shipments in the final three months carrying 3.387 million tons, up 15.8% compared with the same period in 2023.

Inbound shipments – those coming from off the river system – totaled 3.793 million tons during 2024, down 16% compared with 2023. Outbound shipments totaled 4.769 million tons, up 134% compared with 2023. Internal shipments – those sent between port operations on the river – totaled 3.884 million tons, up 10%.

Following are the top five shipment categories by tonnage in 2024, with the percentage change from 2023.
• Sand, gravel, rock: 4.591 million tons (up 13%)
• Chemical fertilizer: 2.438 million tons (down 9%)
• Minerals and building products: 1.06 million tons (down 0.12%)
• Iron and Steel: 987,223 tons (down 20%)
• Wheat: 889,443 tons (up 8%)

“Tonnage for Five Rivers Distribution saw an 8% increase in 2024. Tonnage remains strong with favorable river conditions and our rail volumes have also increased,” said Marty Shell, owner of Van Buren-based Five Rivers Distribution, which manages port operations in Van Buren and the Port of Fort Smith. “Inbound and outbound trucks into the facilities are also heavy with the winter months of supplying the animal agriculture business. We foresee a strong 2025, but the uncertainty of tariffs still loom for the upcoming years and we will have to pivot to those changes.”

Bryan Day, executive director of the Port of Little Rock, said the port posted a 27% decrease in barge tonnage in 2024 compared with 2023. Tonnage from rail at the port was up 26%. He said the state’s largest port also saw a fourth quarter surge, working 87 barges compared with 58 in the same period of 2023. Day estimates barge and rail tonnage at the port will increase in 2025, and he also believes river traffic will continue to increase.

“Our estimation for 2025 is that river tonnage will increase based on preliminary conversations with some of our industries,” Day noted.

TONNAGE HISTORY, RIVER INFO
Tonnage shipped on the river in 2023 totaled 12.208 million, up 10.9% compared with 11.011 million tons in 2022. Shipments of sand, gravel, rock and chemical fertilizers helped drive the 2023 gains.

Inbound shipments – those coming from off the river system – totaled 4.491 million tons during 2023, up 30% compared with 2022. Outbound shipments totaled 4.175 million tons, up 6% compared with 2022. Internal shipments – those sent between port operations on the river – totaled 3.542 million tons, down 1% compared with 2022.

The Arkansas River system – McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS) – is 445 miles long and stretches from the confluence of the Mississippi River to the Port of Catoosa near Tulsa, Okla. The controlled waterway has 18 locks and dams, with 13 in Arkansas and five in Oklahoma. The river also has five commercial ports: Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Fort Smith, Muskogee, Okla., and the Tulsa Port of Catoosa in Oklahoma.

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Susie Maynard was named Arkansas Elementary Art Teacher of the Year for 2023-24, but the White Hall School District instructor is quick to give credit to her coworkers.

“The only thing that sets me apart is that I have the best team,” Maynard said Tuesday. “That’s what makes me so good is the team. We have the best art team.”

The team puts together a district-wide art show every year at the White Hall Community Center featuring drawings, paintings, sculptures and more.

“We try to include every avenue of art,” Maynard said.

Maynard was acknowledged for her award at a WHSD board meeting. Arkansas Art Educators presented the honor to Maynard during the fall semester.

Maynard teaches kindergarten through fifth grades at Moody and Hardin elementaries. She has taught in the WHSD for at least 15 years and also spent a year in the Little Rock School District.

She values giving students a chance to problem-solve and think for themselves.

“I don’t feel like they have enough of that, and art is such a great avenue for them to make their own decisions, to make their mistakes and figure out, how do I solve this mistake?” she said. “How do I turn it into something really cool?”

Before approaching those questions, students do learn the basics from Maynard.

“We teach how to use the paintbrush, how to hold your pencil, how to draw different shapes and how to put it together, and then the student picks it up and carries it from there,” she said.

Other teachers nominated Maynard for the award and the AAE board decided on the winner, she said. Despite such a prestigious honor, she remains humble.

“I don’t think I stand out,” Maynard started, “but I …”

“Yes, she does,” Debbie Jones interjected. Jones is the assistant superintendent for curriculum. “There is creativity that she brings to the table, and it’s also opportunity for students to explore within their art.”

Maynard remarked: “She explains that best.”

Arkansas’ economic expansion continued in the last months of 2024 and positions the state to continue building momentum as the year opens, according to a regional economic analysis released Wednesday.

Nevertheless, rising prices could hinder growth and business executives are worried about persisting inflation and the potential economic hurdles that tariff increases could create. Christmas holiday sales were uplifting, coming in better than expected and brightening the outlook for 2025.

Sales were helped by a late Thanksgiving that fueled a spending spree and delivered a kickstart to the year, the Federal Reserve Bank reported Wednesday in its Beige Book economic analysis. The report covers 12 regional districts, including Arkansas and surrounding states in the St. Louis district.

“Retailers in our district indicated that December sales were stronger than in previous years,” Charles Gascon, the Fed economist for the Arkansas region, said Wednesday.