Low water cuts Danube freight traffic by more than half

Freight traffic on Austria’s Danube fell by more than half in July and August compared with the same period in 2025, as drought and low water levels restricted shipping, ORF reports, citing Statistics Austria.

The decline was especially sharp in August, when freight volumes were down 74 percent year on year. That month had the second-lowest transport volume since records began in the early 1990s. Only January 1997, when an extreme cold spell raised the risk of ice, recorded a lower tonnage.

Ships carried lighter loads, making transport more expensive. The Transport and Traffic division of the Lower Austrian Economic Chamber said many goods were moved by rail or truck instead. Each transfer to another mode of transport adds noticeable costs, it said.

On the roughly 260-kilometre stretch of the Danube in Lower Austria, vessels mainly carry agricultural products, chemicals, and food and consumer goods. The region’s main Danube ports are Krems and Ennshafen, which lies on the border with Upper Austria. Water levels remain low, and conditions have yet to improve.