German river shipping business in heavy crisis

The global financial and economic crisis is troubling the European river shipping industry. In the first quarter of 2009 transport performance on German rivers and channels dropped almost 25 per cent to 12 billion ton kilometres compared to the same period last year. Forwarded volumes declined by more than 19 per cent. The most affected products were “iron, non-ferrous metals“, “ores, metal scrap“, “fertilizers“ and “stones and earth“. Also container transport registered a decline of more than 25 per cent to 415.000 TEU in the first three months. 

Economic recovery is not in sight yet. After two good years for the German river shipping industry more and more barge operators incur difficulties to pay. The BDB (German association for river shipping) thus speaks of one of the heaviest crises the river shipping industry incurred in the post-war period. Dr. Gunther Jaegers, President of the Bundesverband der Deutschen Binnenschiffahrt e.V. (BDB), expects that shippers will start again demanding for the vessel capacity that is now available at ports as soon as the economy recovers.

After analysing the market situation and relevant European directives, the BDB is convinced that there is no “serious market disturbance“ according to the EU directive 96/75/EG at present time. The relevant directives had not been set up to respond to global economic difficulties, but to combat structural obstacles in river shipping. According to BDB neither declining volumes in cargo transport, nor rapidly falling freight charges are signs for structural problems in river shipping, but they are consequences of the economic down affecting all modes of transport, which is, e.g. also becoming evident in rail cargo transport.

Quelle: Österreichische Verkehrszeitung