Dusseldorf The heat wave has its first consequences for goods transport on the Rhine. Its water levels have fallen in the past few days. In Cologne, the river currently only has a water level of 1.15 meters. Freighters can currently only drive with a greatly reduced load.
The Rhine is important for the transport of raw materials and products to the companies. This applies to the German chemical industry, which is located on the Rhine, is supplied with raw materials by ship and transports its own products. However, the Rhine is an equally important transport route for coal, petrol and heating oil for companies right into the Ruhr area.
According to the WSV waterway administration, some of the freighters can only carry half of the usual load. In detail it depends on the path. Ships heading north from Koblenz are particularly affected. The Rhine is already low near the town of Kaub, currently the level is 70 centimeters.
Forecasts by the WSV show that a further decline due to rain in southern Germany could be stopped for the time being in the coming days. However, a persistently dry summer could exacerbate the situation in August for barges on the Rhine – if, for example, the level near Cologne falls below one meter for days.
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The Federation of German Industries BDI has already been alarmed. On Wednesday, the association announced that there was a risk that the low water levels would further reduce capacity in inland waterway transport, which is already busy. “The situation can quickly deteriorate, even if the supply of industry via the waterways is currently still guaranteed.”
Industrial companies feel reminded of 2018
The low water reminds industrial companies of 2018. A hot summer and a dry autumn severely restricted shipping across the Rhine. In some cases, companies were unable to use the river logistically at all or had to switch to alternative transport, the prices of which rose significantly.
At the time, this meant that numerous companies were struggling with severe declines in earnings. The industrial group Thyssen-Krupp, which operates a large steel mill in Duisburg, reported a minus in the low three-digit million range in 2018 due to the low water.
The Ruhr group relies on transport across the Rhine. The large amounts of iron ore and coal required for steel production cannot be completely shifted to rail or truck. The group is supplied with around 60,000 tons of raw materials every day. In 2018, the group was able to produce 200,000 tons less steel than planned due to the shortage.
In order not to get into this situation again, Thyssen-Krupp has now set up its own task force for low water situations. The group is continuously monitoring the situation on the Rhine, a spokeswoman explained: “In the course of the current low water situation, we have taken various measures.” The group does not carry out these measures more precisely, but points out: “The raw material requirements are currently secured on this basis .”
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Competitor Arcelor-Mittal, which also operates a production site in Duisburg, makes a similar statement. In 2018, the group also had to reduce its production after there was a lack of raw material due to the low water. In Duisburg, the group is supplied with pig iron by Thyssen-Krupp, among others.
Force majeure
Both Thyssen-Krupp and Arcelor-Mittal had to put off their customers with reference to force majeure. The same was true at the time for chemical manufacturers like BASF, which were also struggling with sharp falls in profits. The Ludwigshafen company reported a 15 percent drop in profits in the third quarter. It is currently not foreseeable that this development will be repeated.
Just a few days ago, BASF presented surprisingly strong figures for the second quarter. The chemical industry also got off to a good start in the third quarter, as can be heard in the industry. The chemical company is not currently assuming that business will be affected by the low water level in the Rhine.
This corresponds to the information provided by other chemical companies such as Lanxess, Covestro and Evonik. The companies can absorb the first consequences: they rent several ships, on which the load is distributed, and fill up their stocks in raw material tanks. Based on the experience of 2018, BASF has set up a digital early warning system and is increasingly chartering modern ships suitable for low water.
The Rhine is an important transport route for many industrial companies.
(Photo: IMAGO/Dominik Bund)
The chemical company has also developed a ship with a high carrying capacity and a shallow draft so that it can continue to deliver in extremely low water situations. According to the group, this ship is still being built.
If things get even tighter on the Rhine, the industrial companies want to convert logistics to trucks and rail freight as much as possible. However, due to the corona-related lockdowns, the logistics chains as a whole are still strained and the prices for free capacities are high. In addition, there are numerous construction sites and problems with the freight railway.
Evonik writes, for example: “There are several extraordinary challenges for the logistics chains in Germany as a business location in 2022.” The Essen-based group is already using other trucks so that production and transport can continue to run without problems.
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