News / Chronic delays in European intermodal traffic as barge congestion returns

Significant congestion has returned to plague Europe’s inland waterways, and following last month’s flood damage there is concern over an absence of alternative routes.

Contargo’s latest weekly update reports delays of 43 hours for barge handling into the seaport at Antwerp, and longer into Rotterdam, where average waiting is more than 64 hours.

One source told The Loadstar: “The return of substantive congestion in the ports is due to the lack of berthing capacity available for freight barge traffic. And compounding this, ...