Container Barge Research Articles

Terminals and the Competitiveness of Container Barge Transport

Low-cost operations have traditionally formed the competitive edge of inland shipping. Because of the exploitation of these comparative advantages, the barge sector has succeeded in gaining a substantial market share in container transport. The cost and quality performance of terminals play a major role in improving the competitiveness of container barge transport. Terminal handling is a major cost frontier because the share of terminal costs in the total chain of costs of barge transport is relatively large. The handling of barges in seaports is especially expensive. To enable new types of cost-efficient barge services, additional functions for terminals come into play (i.e., there is a new challenge for the functional performance of barge inland terminals). This paper explores the future requirements and opportunities of barge terminals to improve further the competitiveness of container barge transport. The relationship between barge network design and terminal design is relevant. Based on a review of the major cost drivers in barge handling and the role of terminals in barge service networks, new challenges for container barge handling and possible solutions are discussed. A major conclusion is that a differentiated approach is needed in developing new terminal and handling concepts. The major drivers for this differentiated approach are the container volumes to be handled and the position of the terminal in the network.

Opportunities to improve container barge handling in the port of Rotterdam from a transport network perspective

This paper presents and evaluates an opportunity to improve the competitiveness of container barge transport in the hinterland of Rotterdam through a reorganization of container barge services. This reorganization improves the handling of barges in the port and consists of splitting existing services into a trunk line operation in the hinterland and collection/distribution operations in the seaport. A marginal cost model is used to demonstrate the potential net benefits of these revised services. The main conclusion is that these split services can improve the competitiveness of barge hinterland transport, but the effectiveness depends on several conditions. These conditions are first of all related to the design and organization of collection and distribution transport, but also to the characteristics of the trunk line operation in the hinterland.

Network dynamics in container transport by barge

In a time span of twenty years, container transport by barge has acquired a significant share in the hinterland modal split for containers of the load centres Rotterdam and Antwerp. In other European load centres, barge container transport as yet plays a modest role, but the interest in the barge option is growing. The growth in container volumes by barge and the increase of the number of seaports and inland terminals involved go hand in hand with fundamental spatial developments in the European inland terminal network.This paper addresses the organisational changes in the European barging industry that have taken place in the last twenty years and its impact on the spatial dynamics in the European container barge network. The paper analyses structural changes in liner service schedules by barge and the changing functional interdependencies between inland terminals in the network and organizational changes in the industry. The paper will conclude by discussing future perspectives for the spatial development of the barging network.

Development of Container Barge Transport on Small Waterways: From Increasing Scale to Increasing Scope

The container barge sector's challenge of increasing its market share by increasing its geographical scope is addressed. For 30 years, container barge transport has been a strong, growing business in Europe, but a focus on increasing the scale of operations has led to services being mainly developed on large- and middle-sized waterways. Opportunities to develop container barge transport on small waterways have been overlooked, and development has been discouraged by transport policies. The market share of container barge transport can be increased, but doing so would require a penetration into new geographical markets. Small waterways would play an important role in this effort. The possibility of developing and improving the competitiveness of container barge transport on small waterways is discussed, with attention given to the role of small vessels, adapted vessels, and revised network operations. Both technical and logistic innovations provide interesting opportunities to develop container barge transport on small waterways.