How much freight goes by inland waterway in the EU?

117,967 million tonne-km in 2025, down 3.0% on 2024, on Eurostat's estimates. The Rhine countries carry 78.8% of it, and the Rhine itself moved 284.5 million tonnes in 2024.

What is the Kaub gauge?

The Rhine water level at Kaub, the reference point for low water on the middle Rhine. Its critical low-water level is 77 cm; in April 2025 it stood at 79 cm.

What is a low-water surcharge?

An extra charge on barge freight when the river drops and vessels can carry less. CCNR's rates are quoted including fuel and low-water surcharges.

Term

Inland waterway freight

Inland waterway freight is cargo moved by barge or other inland vessels on rivers and canals, wholly or partly on navigable inland waterways. In the EU it carried 117,967 million tonne-kilometres in 2025, down 3.0% on 2024, Eurostat estimates, and the Rhine countries account for nearly four-fifths of it.

Also called inland waterway transport, IWT, barge freight, river freight, push convoy, Rhine shippingUpdated 14 October 2026

The numbers

Measure	Figure	Source
EU inland waterway transport, 2023 · 2024 · 2025	116,432 · 121,633 · 117,967 million t-km	Eurostat, July 2026
Rhine countries' share of EU performance, 2024	78.8%	CCNR, October 2025
Cargo on the whole Rhine, 2024	284.5 million t	CCNR
Average Rhine vessel capacity, 2024	1,577 t	CCNR
India's inland waterways, FY 2024–25	145.5 million t, a record	Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways

Vessels and convoys

Waterways are classed by the vessels they take: class Va is for vessels 95 to 110 m long and 11.40 m wide. A push convoy is one or more non-powered barges pushed or towed by a powered vessel, and on the Danube more than 70% of cargo moves that way, the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR) says. The EU aims to grow inland waterway and short sea transport by a quarter by 2030 and by half by 2050.

Worked example: when the river drops

Critical low-water level at Kaub: 77 cm · April 2025: 79 cm, 2 cm above it · 4,500 t to move in a 1,577 t vessel: 3 sailings when full · loaded to, say, 60% for the lower draught → about 950 t a trip → 5 sailings

Kaub levels from CCNR's Market Insight, April 2026; the vessel size is the CCNR's 2024 Rhine average. The 60% load factor is illustrative — the CCNR notes that falling water reduces available draught even before the critical level.

Who pays for low water

Shippers do, partly: Rhine freight rates are quoted including fuel and low-water surcharges. But the CCNR finds rate increases during low water only partially offset barge operators' higher costs and reduced payloads, so a dry summer squeezes both sides.

The mistake people make

Watching only the critical level. The CCNR is explicit that falling water levels, even when they don't reach the equivalent water level, lower the available draught — loads shrink, and surcharges start, well before the headline mark at Kaub.

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