Analysis of the Regional Economic Effects of Failures in Critical Waterway Infrastructure

Germany’s federal waterways are of central importance to the national economy. A recent expert report by DIW Econ, commissioned by the Verein für europäische Binnenschifffahrt und Wasserstraßen e.V. (VBW), demonstrates that functioning waterway infrastructure is essential for value creation, employment and security of supply across numerous industrial regions.

Inland waterway transport accounts for around 6.5 percent of total freight carried in Germany and is often difficult to replace, particularly for bulk goods such as ores, mineral oil products, chemicals and coal. At the same time, it is an efficient and comparatively environmentally friendly mode of transport: an average inland cargo vessel replaces around 150 truck journeys, while greenhouse gas emissions per ton-kilometer are significantly lower than those of road freight transport. Across the entire value chain, inland freight shipping generates gross value added of nearly EUR 2.9 billion and secures around 13,600 jobs. River cruising adds a further dimension, generating at least EUR 476 million in gross value added and supporting around 10,000 jobs, making it a significant driver of regional economies.

All the more concerning, then, is the substantial investment backlog affecting locks, weirs and canals, which is steadily increasing the risk of long-term infrastructure failures. Drawing on five case studies, the short expert report shows that the failure of critical waterways would have effects far beyond the transport sector itself – affecting industrial value chains, ports, logistics hubs, tourism regions and tens of thousands of jobs. Investment in waterway infrastructure is therefore not a subsidy for a single mode of transport; it is an economic necessity for safeguarding value creation, employment and industrial competitiveness.

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