German water levels remain critical in autumn
Germany's waterways, particularly the Rhine, continue to face critical low water levels, disrupting industrial logistics and steel supply chains. Companies are increasingly relying on rail transport to mitigate the impact of these persistent environmental challenges.
Why it matters
The ongoing disruption of major European trade arteries highlights the economic vulnerability of industrial sectors to climate-induced environmental changes.
Germany’s waterways continue to suffer with low water volumes and levels. The bottlenecks for industrial transports on rivers, especially the Rhine, have not recovered by much, or only temporarily.
In fact, after record lows were seen in August for the Rhine, those values have been undercut at some locations along the river in September, according to the national water authority Bundesamt für Gewässerkunde. “An alleviation is not in sight in the first half of October,” it warns.
Rain has been forecast to fall in the coming days, “but too little and, too short to take sustainable effect on the levels of the national waterways.”
The raw materials supply and steel deliveries to and from the country’s largest steelmaker, thyssenkrupp Steel, on the junction of Rhine and Ruhr, remains problematic, the company tells Kallanish.
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