Low Rhine levels threaten to raise Swiss transport costs

Record-low water levels on the Rhine have disrupted freight transport and could make fuel, construction materials and food more expensive, SRF reported. Many goods may be shifted permanently from inland shipping to road and rail transport, increasing costs.

The Rhine gauge at Kaub in Germany fell to six centimetres in August, a new record low. Extremely low levels were also recorded on the Danube in Hungary and Romania, the Po in Italy and the Loire in France.

Massimiliano Zappa, head of meteorological forecasting at the Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, said such conditions had not occurred since the 1940s. Low water of this severity could currently last for up to 40 consecutive days, he said, while by the end of the century it could last for as many as 80 days.

Freight ships on the Rhine are still able to carry only a fraction of their normal loads. Many shipments have therefore been moved to other forms of transport, sharply increasing costs for heavy and bulky goods such as sand, crude oil and grain. A large inland vessel can carry about 100 times as much as a lorry while requiring far fewer workers.

Julia Arlinghaus, a professor of logistics and supply chain management at the University of St. Gallen, said lorry transport had become significantly more expensive this summer. At times, fuel-related transport costs from Rotterdam to Basel increased tenfold.

Swiss consumers have already felt the impact at petrol stations. Arlinghaus said some calculations indicated that fuel costs had risen by 16 Swiss centimes per litre, equivalent to almost 8 per cent of the cost of filling a tank.

Arlinghaus expects some freight to move from inland waterways to roads not only temporarily but also in the longer term. Studies suggest that under an extreme climate scenario, about 4 per cent of goods could permanently shift from inland vessels to lorries. On the route towards Basel, that would amount to about 1,000 additional lorries a day.

Construction materials such as gravel and cement could also become more expensive. Higher transport costs could affect food prices as well, since inland vessels carry large quantities of grain and animal feed. Arlinghaus said the costs could potentially be reflected in the prices of meat, eggs and bread, although the many factors involved made precise estimates difficult.

Ultra-Brag AG, which handles, stores and transports bulk goods at the Swiss Rhine ports in Basel, has been particularly affected. Its freight vessels can still be loaded to only 20 per cent of capacity. As a result, goods that cannot be transported as planned are piling up in storage, including asphalt intended for the Netherlands.

Thomas Knopf, the company’s chief executive, said the site normally held 2,000 to 3,000 tonnes of asphalt but now contained more than 15,000 tonnes. Moving such quantities by road would be difficult because of the high costs and limited capacity, including a shortage of personnel.

Knopf is instead seeking to expand rail transport. Since August 22, a container train from Rotterdam has arrived at Ultra-Brag once a week. The service had been planned earlier, was brought forward because of the low water levels and is due to be expanded.