Among the causes of the record low were declines in the production of important goods shipped and the low water levels in August 2022. The transport volume of 2022 fell short by 11 per cent of the volume recorded for the pre-COVID-19 year of 2019, when 205 million tonnes of goods had been carried by inland water transport.

Furthermore, the country’s coal transports were up 12.1 per cent due to higher demand in the energy crisis, while freight volume shipped to foreign ports was down 12.1 per cent, as per Destatis.

The volume of goods transported by inland waterways in Germany fell by 6.4 per cent in 2022, reaching a record low of 182 million tonnes, the lowest since German reunification.
This was due to declines in production of important goods transported and low water levels in August 2022. The transport volume was also 11 per cent lower than that of 2019.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)