Water levels on the river Rhine in Germany have fallen after more dry weather, compelling cargo vessels to sail part-loaded, but the river is holding well above record lows in August, navigation authorities and commodity traders said on Monday.
Rhine water levels hit record shallow levels in August, with industry suffering higher transport costs, logistics bottlenecks and curbed production.
Inland navigation agency WSV said the navigable water gauge at the chokepoint of Kaub near Koblenz was around 34 centimetres (13 inches) on Monday, down from around 50 centimetres last week. The Rhine fell below 10 centimetres in mid-August, below the previous lowest recorded level of 25 centimetres in 2018. The river is about one metre deeper than the navigable gauge.
Ships continue to sail part-loaded, commodity traders said. Loads must be spread across several vessels, increasing costs for industry, while large volumes of freight have also been switched to roads and railways.
Prices for river shipping are rising as more vessels are needed to transport loads, the cost of a tanker barge from Rotterdam to Karlsruhe has risen to about €120-€125 ($139-$145) a ton from around €100 last week, traders said.
Some rain is forecast in river catchment areas this week which could help raise water levels but not solve the current problems, a commodity trader said.
Germany and other European countries have endured successive heatwaves and limited rainfall this summer, pushing down water levels on waterways such as the Rhine, a vital shipping route for grain, minerals, coal and refined oil products.
(Reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg. Editing by Ros Russell)