After many weeks of dry and hot weather, the level of the Rhine River has surpassed the previous record low seen in autumn 2018.
On Thursday, German transport minister Steffen Bilger scheduled an emergency meeting with port authorities, transport companies, and representatives of industries that depend on water transport.
The Rhine’s gauge at Kaub near the Loreley rock is now under 25 centimetres, and likely to fall further. The point serves as a reference because it has a particularly shallow navigational channel of 1.90 metres.
Germany’s biggest waterway for commercial shipping is now impacting industries that are already suffering from poor economic conditions. In the steel industry, mainly scrap transport is impaired, with three recycling associations have already worded their troubles in a political appeal.
Ships can currently take only one third of their normal loads, which has tripled the cost for transport on smaller vessels, Kallanish is told by the logistics expert of recycling association BVSE. He gives the example of an export-bound scrap load from Frankfurt to Rotterdam, which customarily costs around €10/tonne ($11.55/t), but is currently at more than €30/t.
For most players in the steel value chain, the shortcomings of sea freight transport cannot be fully compensated by rail or truck. Nevertheless, the regional organisation representing mills in Saarland have demanded that the Sunday ban for trucks be lifted temporarily, this has also been suggested by transport minister Bilger.
ArcelorMittal also depends on waterway transport on the Rhine and Ruhr in Duisburg, as well as in Bremen on the Weser, and in Eisenhüttenstadt on the Oder. According to a statement, it has adjusted production in the Duisburg works due to supply shortages. However, the group claims that the impacts are manageable, and that supplies to the mills and deliveries to customers are safe.
Author: Christian Koehl Germany
