21 August 2026

Air & Ocean Market Update | Low Water Situation Europe

Due to ongoing drought across North-West Europe, the water levels in the main European inland waterways have dropped immensely, significantly limiting transportation by barge. Water levels in the Rhine, for example, have fallen to such an extent that connections with inland terminals in the Netherlands and Germany are heavily restricted, whilst shipping to parts of Germany and Switzerland is no longer possible at all. This has led to a near-complete modal shift from barge to truck.

The speed of this shift is putting severe pressure on trucking availability in the market and is causing congestion and delays at the deep-sea and barge terminals for both export and import cargo.

Weather forecasts in mainland Europe depict ongoing rainfall over the next few weeks, but nowhere near enough to allow for the water to rise to the levels necessary for efficient transport by barge. We therefore expect ongoing pressure on inland shipping, port congestion and delays.