Companies face higher freight costs
The Rhine is one of Europe’s main arteries for transporting grains, fuels, minerals and manufactured goods, but its shallow waters are increasingly leaving companies facing higher freight costs and a lack of suitable alternatives.
“Alarm bells are ringing loudly: the extremely low water levels are increasingly pushing logistics and supply chains to their limits,” Wolfgang Grosse Entrup, CEO of German chemical industry association VCI, told Reuters.
Production at rival Evonik’s Marl chemical park has been hampered by reduced cargoes, it said without disclosing further details.
State-owned utility Uniper, meanwhile, pointed to lower output at its German hydroelectric plants, chiming with similar comments from local rival EnBW last week.