The water levels on the Rhine are reaching historic lows, and German industry is now warning of the devastating consequences. The BDI believes it is only a matter of time before plants in the chemical or steel industry are shut down.
The drought is also increasingly affecting shipping in Germany. The water level on the Lower Rhine near Emmerich has now fallen below zero, and the record low of minus two centimeters was measured in the morning measurement, as the waterways and shipping administration announced.
In Emmerich, near the border with the Netherlands, a water level of zero centimeters was measured for the first time on Tuesday, undercutting the old record low from October 2018. Despite the exceptional situation, shipping is still possible: The water level is not synonymous with the fairway depth, which is decisive for shipping. This was recently just under two meters in Emmerich.
“We can still drive – on the entire Rhine, Emmerich can also be passed,” said Tobias Engels, the authorized representative of the shipping cooperative DTG with more than 100 connected cargo ships on the Rhine. “However, the cargo ships can currently take less than a third of their normal load.” It is sometimes necessary to triple the number of transports to bring the same quantity to the customer.
In view of the low water levels on the Rhine, German industry is warning of the devastating consequences for the economy. “The persistent dry period and the low water threaten the security of supply for industry,” said Holger Loesch, deputy general manager of the Federation of German Industries (BDI). “Companies are preparing for the worst. The already tense economic situation in the companies is getting worse.”
It is only a matter of time before plants in the chemical or steel industry are shut down, mineral oils and building materials do not reach their destination or large-capacity and heavy transports are no longer possible. Delivery bottlenecks, production cutbacks or even standstills and short-time work would be the result.
The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities such as grain, chemicals, minerals, coal and oil products such as heating oil. The low water, which has been going on for weeks, is already affecting the performance of two German coal-fired power plants.
