Innovations in Barge Transport for Supplying French Urban Dense Areas: A Transaction Costs Approach

Abstract

Experimentations and innovations that involve barge transport flourish in France as the main leg for urban distribution of goods. Based on a study of existing container barge transport (CBT) chains, this article identifies several obstacles impeding their use for urban river logistics: the complexity of these chains, on the one hand, and the level of specificity of assets involved in the loading and unloading phases, on the other hand. With the help of transaction costs economics, the article shows that several innovations involving barge transport to supply French cities share a common aim to diminish transaction costs, especially in those phases. This article also shows that coordination and pooling issues lead to adopt integrated or quasi-integrated governance structures to organize regular inland shipping lines necessary to supply dense French urban areas.