Severe disruption to inland shipping North-West Europe due to low water levels

Container freight rates are declining as demand weakens. Meanwhile, inland shipping in North-West Europe is experiencing severe disruption due to low water levels. The restrictions on inland shipping could therefore put even more pressure on road transport, where freight volumes already increased last year, according to new Eurostat data.The Drewry World Container Index fell by 3% last week. Rates on both the Asia–Europe and Transpacific trade routes declined. According to Drewry, carriers are actively managing capacity through blank sailings on the Transpacific trade route as demand softens and front-loading activity slows. Blank sailings are also being used on the Asia–Europe trade to cope with weaker demand. Spot rates fell by 6% on the Shanghai–Genoa route and by 3% on the Shanghai–Rotterdam route. Exceptionally low water levels in rivers and canalsLarge parts of Northwestern and Central Europe are grappling with exceptionally low water levels in rivers and canals. The Rhine and the Danube are both running at exceptionally low levels. In the Netherlands, the Rhine has fallen to historically low levels, causing major disruption to inland shipping. The situation in Germany is also concerning.German container logistics company Contargo says it may become necessary to temporarily suspend its regular inland waterway services to the Upper Rhine, Middle Rhine and Rhine-Main regions if current forecasts materialise. “At such low water levels, inland vessels can utilise only a very limited portion of their normal carrying capacity. Beyond a certain point, reliable and economically viable transport by inland waterway can no longer be guaranteed,” the company said in a statement.Low-water surcharges are already in place. The surcharge can rise to as much as €1,280. According to Contargo, the surcharges are higher than during previous low-water periods, largely due to the sharp increase in vessel charter rates. Containers destined for affected regions may also increasingly have to be transported by rail or road instead of inland waterways, the company said.In Flanders, grouped lockages have been introduced at several locks to reduce water loss during the current period of low water levels. At specific locations, draft restrictions have also been introduced because water levels have fallen sharply, De Standaard reports. This includes the Upper Scheldt near Gavere and the Dessel–Turnhout–Schoten Canal, where vessels have to reduce their cargo loads.According to the European logistics association CLECAT, the disruption extends well beyond inland shipping. With barges carrying between 20% and 60% less cargo than under normal conditions, increasing volumes are being shifted to road transport. This comes at a particularly challenging time, as road infrastructure around Antwerp is already under pressure due to the ongoing Oosterweel construction works. CLECAT says market sources are reporting growing congestion on the main access routes to the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam, including the R1, E13, E34 and A12, while container terminals are approaching or have already exceeded their available storage capacity.Limitations in the availability of empty containers possibleAccording to Hapag-Lloyd, congestion and low water levels on the Rhine are also affecting barge services to and from Rotterdam and Antwerp. The shipping company warns that train cancellations, longer transit times and temporary limitations in the availability of empty containers cannot be ruled out.EU road freight transport edges higherThe restrictions on inland shipping could therefore put even more pressure on road transport. Road freight traffic already increased last year. The total volume of road freight transport in the EU rose to 1,886 billion tonne-kilometres in 2025, an increase of 0.9% compared with the previous year according to data published by Eurostat. The volume of goods transported grew even faster, rising by 1.8% to 13.3 billion tonnes.More than 62% of road freight transport was domestic, while just over 24% was international. Cross trade accounted for almost 11%, with cabotage making up the remaining just under 3%.Poland accounted for the largest share of EU road freight transport with 381 billion tonne-kilometres (20.2%), followed by Germany (14.7%), Spain (14.5%), France (9.2%) and Italy (8.6%).Germany played a key role in EU road freight transport. It was either the origin or destination in six of the ten largest intra-EU road freight flows. The largest bilateral flow was between Germany and the Netherlands, with 86.9 million tonnes transported.