Inland waterway logistics: What if blue routes were the greenest?

With 52.5 million metric tons (Mt) transported in France in 2021, inland waterway freight transport (source: VNF’s 2021 Inland Waterway Freight report) recorded an increase of more than 4% in ton-kilometers (tkm) and 3.1% in volume compared with 2020. This is equivalent to more than 2,625,000 trucks taken off the roads. This result was notably driven by significant growth in the use of inland waterways by the construction materials sector, which accounted for 23.7 Mt, up 16.8% from 2020. These figures demonstrate professionals’ confidence in a mode of transport that contributes to the ecological transition. Across the European Union, however, inland waterway transport accounted for only 131.7 billion tkm in 2020, down 8.4% from 2019.

Inland waterway logistics offers numerous advantages: reduced CO2 emissions, less road congestion and fewer disturbances, greater safety, delivery times set in advance, a competitive inland waterway logistics chain (secure buffer storage in ports and flexibility), and improved goods traceability.

Examples of inland waterway logistics pilots are multiplying, no longer only between major production and consumption areas, but also in the heart of cities, where urban inland waterway logistics is gaining ground. “It is through innovation that urban inland waterway logistics is continuing to develop,” notes Antoine Berbain, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Haropa Port - Paris. “New delivery models are emerging, integrating several sustainable transport modes: self-unloading vessels with onboard handling equipment, shared-time port use, new applications such as parcel pick-up points and floating inventory, shared barges…”

Major inland waterway logistics sites include the multimodal platforms in Gennevilliers, west of Paris, and Bonneuil-sur-Marne, east of Paris, which operate as freight preparation and loading hubs. Ikea has established a new warehouse at the Limay-Porcheville platform. In Paris, these include the Port de la Bourdonnais (where Franprix’s logistics operations serve 300 stores) and the Port of Bercy, used for Ikea’s e-commerce operations.

Inland waterway logistics applies to almost all types of goods. For many years, construction and public works products and recoverable materials (plastics, paper and cardboard) have been distributed close to worksites from hubs formed by multimodal platforms. Processed, high-value-added goods have also been concerned since the early 2000s: cars, household appliances, food products (excluding fresh and frozen products), textiles, beverages, and more. Packaging is evolving and innovating: pallets, bulk goods, drums, heavy parcels, bags, containers, swap bodies, onboard delivery vehicles, and more.

The Rouen, Paris and Le Havre metropolitan authorities have launched a call for expressions of interest in partnership with Haropa Port and Voies Navigables de France (VNF). The stated objective is to identify projects or companies capable of generating last-mile inland waterway traffic. A call for projects will be launched in early 2023 for the entire Seine corridor.

A major furniture retailer that makes extensive use of inland waterway logistics to supply its stores, Ikea uses the Seine and then electric vehicles to deliver to its customers. Prepared at the distribution center at the Port of Gennevilliers, orders are transported in suitable containers to the Port of Bercy, then loaded onto electric vehicles to complete “the last mile.” For its part, Goodman is developing a real estate project for a logistics platform directly connected to the Seine at the Port of Gennevilliers, enabling its future users to consolidate and ship their goods directly via the river. The road vehicles handling distribution will be 100% zero-emission by 2030.

Despite a long period of crisis, a growing number of shippers and stakeholders are showing interest in inland waterway transport. The network flows smoothly and is not saturated. It could accommodate up to four times more traffic on certain corridors, such as the Seine and Rhône. Although it is the most environmentally friendly freight transport mode, it remains significantly underused.

With a view to future growth, warehouses within or near inland ports are an essential link in the logistics chain. Major metropolitan areas crossed by rivers can rely on this mode of transport to move goods into the very heart of dense urban areas. “The expansion of inland waterway transport, at the expense of road transport and in support of the national low-carbon strategy, requires rethinking the positioning of essential infrastructure such as logistics platforms,” concludes Philippe Arfi, Director of Goodman France.