With nearly 90 million inhabitants, the Danube region is of great economic interest due to its sheer size alone. The Danube originates in the Black Forest, Germany, and has an overall length into the Black Sea of 2858 km. The Danube River Basin is more than 801,463 square kilometres, creating a vast delta before entering the Black Sea (1).
Historically, the Danube has been a living space and transport route for a long time. In the era of the Roman Empire, the river was a critical frontier and transport route. It played a significant role in the movement of troops and supplies, facilitating communication and trade between the various provinces along its banks. The Romans built numerous fortifications and settlements, such as the legionary camps at Vindobona (modern-day Vienna) and Aquincum (modern-day Budapest), to secure and control this vital waterway. During the Middle Ages, the Danube maintained its importance as a major trade route. It connected Central and Eastern Europe, allowing the flow of goods, including salt, grain, and timber. The river was integral to the economic life of the medieval towns and cities that grew along its banks. For instance, Regensburg in Germany became a crucial trading hub due to its strategic location on the Danube. In the early modern period, the Danube's role in transport and trade expanded further. The river facilitated the movement of agricultural products and raw materials to the burgeoning markets of Western Europe. The Habsburg Monarchy capitalised on the Danube's connectivity to enhance its economic power, establishing a network of ports and trade centres. The 19th century saw significant technological advancements that transformed the Danube into a more efficient transport route. The introduction of steamships revolutionised river navigation, allowing for more reliable and faster transportation of goods and people. This period also witnessed extensive engineering works, including constructing canals and regulating the river to improve navigability. In the 20th century, the Danube's importance as a transport route continued to grow, particularly with the rise of industrialisation in Europe. The river became a critical artery for transporting industrial goods, coal, and oil. The development of extensive port facilities and the integration of the Danube into the European inland waterway network further enhanced its role in international trade.
Truck Transport
The Danube region is characterised by a highly dense road network, especially in countries like Germany, Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia. These countries have dense motorway networks, particularly around their capital regions, which support extensive truck transport across the region.
Truck transport in the Danube region plays a crucial role in the logistics and supply chain due to road networks' flexibility and extensive reach. However, truck transport also has significant environmental implications as it is a major contributor to CO2 emissions. It produces higher CO2 emissions per tonne-kilometre compared to rail and inland water transport, prompting efforts to shift more cargo transport to rail and inland waterways to reduce overall emissions.
Rail Transport
Rail transport in the Danube region benefits from a historically dense infrastructure, especially in Eastern European countries, which relied heavily on rail transport during the communist era. This dense rail network now supports efficient and extensive rail transport across the region.
Rail transport is recognised as one of the most environmentally friendly modes. Electric rail transport, in particular, produces significantly lower CO2 emissions compared to road transport.
The shift towards rail transport is also supported by its ability to efficiently handle large volumes of goods over long distances, especially for the movement of bulk cargo, such as coal, steel, and agricultural products.
The environmental benefits of shifting from truck to rail and inland water transport are significant. The Danube waterway, with its extensive network crossing multiple countries, offers an ideal route for reducing CO2 emissions. For example, transporting goods via inland water transport from Passau to Constanta produces significantly less CO2 compared to road transport. The average emissions for inland water transport are 50.62 g of CO2 per tonne-kilometre, compared to 139.8 g for road transport (2).
Mako, David et al. (2) suggest in their study that utilising the available capacity on the Danube could reduce CO2 emissions by more than 1622 tons per kilometre compared to road transport. This reduction is crucial for achieving climate goals and promoting sustainable transport solutions in the Danube region.
While truck transport remains vital for the logistics infrastructure in the Danube region, the shift towards rail and inland water transport is essential for sustainable development. The dense rail network and the strategic use of the Danube waterway can significantly reduce CO2 emissions, improve environmental outcomes, and support the region's economic growth.
Inland ports facilitate the combination of transport modes, such as waterway, road, and rail. Working in multimodal logistical chains, rail and road act as partners to waterway transport by enabling pre- and end-haulage operations with ports fulfilling their role as an essential interface.
Over the last few decades, Danube ports have substantially transformed from conventional inland ports to modern logistical hubs. Because they serve as production sites and centres for cargo collection and distribution, they are extremely well integrated into regional economies and contribute substantially to economic growth and employment creation.
The three most important port locations in terms of transhipment volumes on the Danube are Izmail (Ukraine), Linz (Austria) and Galați (Romania). The seaport of Constanța in Romania occupies a special place. It is connected to the Danube via the Danube-Black Sea Canal. It plays an important role as a transhipment gateway to the Black Sea, facilitating trade with Asia, the Middle East and the Black Sea region.
One aspect of the technological modernisation of the Danube navigation has been the implementation of River Information Services (RIS). RIS are tailor-made information and management services for inland navigation that raise transport safety and help improve transport's cost-effectiveness, reliability and predictability. It comprises electronic navigational charts, vessel tracking and tracing, and current online information on water levels.
The transport volume of goods on the Danube in 2022 fell by 22.9% or 1.9 million tonnes (million t) to 6.4 million t. The figure was thus also 3.0% lower than that of 1992 (6.6 million t), the year in which the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal was opened in September. Total transport performance on international routes also saw a significant decrease of 20.7% or 1.5 billion tonne-kilometres (km) to 5.9 billion km. The number of transportation declined by 19.8% from 7 986 to 6 402 in 2022. This worrying development was due to the war in Ukraine and the navigational hazards due to low water periods (3).
Bulk cargo vessels and tankers make up the volume of Danube traffic. Container vessels are ships explicitly constructed to transport containers and are currently used primarily in the Rhine region (see also: Rhine transport). In the Danube region, container convoys with four pushed lighters are regarded as the best way to increase capacity. Such a pushed convoy has a total loading capacity of up to 576 TEU – each pushed lighter can, therefore, carry 144 TEU, i.e. three layers of containers with 48 TEU each.
The two Danube countries with the highest container transport are currently Romania and Hungary. In 2022, 4,360 TEU were transported on Hungarian inland waterways. In Romania, container transport amounted to 22,675 TEU in 2022, which was a spurred increase compared to 2018, 2019 and 2020. Considering cargo weight, container transport on Hungarian waterways represented 9,000 tonnes in 2022. In Romania, 190,000 tonnes of cargo were transported in containers. These values illustrate the immense gap towards Rhine countries. In 2022, 45.6 million tonnes were transported in containers on inland waterways in the Netherlands, 19.0 million tonnes in Belgium, 18.3 million tonnes in Germany and 3.5 million tonnes in France.
Container transport in Bulgaria reached 3,156 TEU in 2022. Over the last 15 years, no upward movement has been observed, and with a strong decline in 2017 and 2021, this has since remained at a more or less low level. In 2022, Austrian container transport reached 1,168 TEU.
The container terminal in Constantza is a major hub for container transshipments. This also includes offerings for reefers. Approximately 120 reefer plugs are available at the SOCEP terminal (5). Diverse services connect this terminal and others in Romania with deep-sea terminals in the Black Sea and beyond. Maersk, Happag-Lloyd and MSC re-opened connections from Romania and other countries to Ukraine, positively affecting the overall River Danube traffic (6). Belgrad, Budapest, Vienna, Linz and others offer reefer plugs, although in smaller amounts, along the way to the Main-Rhine-Danube channel.
Actually, reefer traffic on the River Danube is relatively small compared to the River Rhine. However, temperature-sensitive cargo transport needs exist in the greater Danube region: Pharmaceutical products (Linz, Vienna, Budapest), frozen fish and meat, and chocolate are among the potential candidates for reefer transport along the river (read more about cold chain requirements).
What is the current status of container transport on the River Danube?
Container transport on the River Danube is growing, but it remains significantly less developed compared to the Rhine region (see also: River Barges, the Rhine and automated reefer monitoring). Romania and Hungary are the leading countries in the Danube region for container transport, with Romania handling 22,675 TEU and Hungary 4,360 TEU in 2022. In comparison, container transport in the Netherlands reached 45.6 million tonnes, highlighting the potential for growth in the Danube region.
What are the main challenges for container transport on the Danube?
The main challenges for container transport on the Danube include the need for modernisation of port facilities, inconsistent water levels affecting navigation, and geopolitical issues such as the war in Ukraine. Additionally, the infrastructure for container handling, including reefer plugs for refrigerated containers, is less developed compared to Western Europe, limiting the efficiency and capacity of container transport in the region.
How can the Danube be developed as a sustainable alternative for reefer transport?
Investments are needed in port infrastructure to develop the Danube as a sustainable alternative for reefer transport, including increasing the availability of reefer plugs at key terminals. Implementing River Information Services (RIS) to improve navigation safety and efficiency, and promoting multimodal logistics chains that integrate rail, road, and waterway transport can enhance the capacity and reliability of the Danube for temperature-sensitive cargo. Additionally, encouraging public and private partnerships to fund these improvements will be crucial for the long-term success of reefer transport on the Danube.
The future of reefer traffic on the River Danube holds significant potential with strategic investments. Developing port infrastructure, particularly increasing reefer plug availability, and integrating advanced technologies like River Information Services (RIS) will enhance navigational safety and efficiency. Promoting multimodal logistics that combine rail, road, and waterway transport can optimise the supply chain. Encouraging public-private partnerships to finance these initiatives will be crucial. By addressing these areas, Danube transport can become a competitive and sustainable route for temperature-sensitive cargo, significantly contributing to reducing CO2 emissions and supporting the region's economic growth.
Delve deeper into one of our core topics: Cold Chain Monitoring
Sources:
(1) Ciric, D.; Nieto, R.; Ramos, A.M.; Drumond, A.; Gimeno, L. Contribution of Moisture from Mediterranean Sea to Extreme Precipitations Events over Danube River Basin. Water 2018, 10, 1182.
(2) Mako, P.; Dávid, A.; Böhm, P.; Savu, S. Sustainable Transport in the Danube Region. Sustainability 2021, 13, 6797. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/su13126797
(3) https://www.statistik.at/fileadmin/announcement/2023/03/20230330Binnenschifffahrt2022EN.pdf
(4) https://inland-navigation-market.org/chapitre/2-freight-transport-on-inland-waterways-3/
(5) https://www.transportevents.com/presentations/batumi2017/CatalinVecerdea.pdf
(6) https://www.sopisconews.com/newsdetails/1065