Cargo via Dutch inland shipping declines

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), inland waterway vessels transported a total of over 345 million tonnes of goods on Dutch inland waterways last year, representing a 3.4 per cent drop compared to the previous year. This drop was due to a decrease in the transport of wet bulk goods, such as petroleum products, and a decrease in container transport. There was also a decline in dry bulk goods, such as metal ores and other minerals. This category has the largest share of inland shipping by weight. Despite this, Dutch inland shipping did transport more coal to Germany last year because of the war in Ukraine and the reduced dependence on Russian natural gas, which means Germany is using much more coal in power plants. In the Netherlands, 83 per cent of the total coal transport by barge went to Germany, mainly for use in coal-fired power plants. The weight of this fossil fuel transported increased by 18.6 per cent last year, which is a sharp increase after similar growth in 2021 and a decrease in previous years, according to CBS.