Water levels along the Rhine are continuing to fall, shippers turning to rail and road

Water levels along the Rhine are continuing to fall, as repeated heatwaves across Europe prolong drought, with shipping bosses now warning the river could effectively be being “split in two”, as carriers slap new surcharges on all modes.

MSC announced on Friday it had introduced a wave of “traffic congestion surcharges” for rail, trucking, and rail-truck transport from/to Antwerp and Rotterdam via Andernach, Frankfurt, Germersheim Munich, Nurnberg, Neuss, Strasbourg, Trier, and Woerth.

The carrier told customers: “Water levels have fallen to such an extent that barge transportation from Rhine-connected inland terminals has become extremely restricted and, in many cases, no longer possible at all.”

“The low water situation in Europe has led to significant transport capacity reduction in the hinterland market, causing more pressure on alternative routings via rail and truck,” it added as it announced its new surcharges.

The fees will become applicable from 20 August and will be charged at €44 per container being moved by truck for all origins and destinations, with rail and rail-truck surcharges of €50 per container for Germany/Alsace origin or destined loads.

The latest forecasts suggest temperatures will drop no lower than 30ºC, and likely to top 36ºC at some points during the week, meaning there is no chance of the precipitation necessary to raise water levels.

Sources told The Loadstar they were working on the basis that the situation would only worsen over the course of August and, with more and more shippers turning to rail and road, there were expectations of worsening traffic congestion.

One source noted that if the Rhine was not back to navigable levels when the summer holidays end and commuter traffic returns, there could be deadlock across Northern Europe’s road network, creating “untold economic damage”.

Source: theloadstar.com