Delivery difficulties
Low water in the Rhine: Thyssenkrupp loads ships less
Low levels in the Rhine force industrial companies to rethink: less freight per ship, but more trips. An economist raises the alarm: low water levels are a growth risk.
The steel manufacturer Thyssenkrupp loads its ships with a lower load in view of the low water levels in the Rhine. “We need around 60,000 tons of raw materials every day, especially iron ore and coal, which mostly come by ship,” said Thyssenkrupp Steel spokesman.
There are currently no problems with raw material supply. “However, we react to the falling level: we load our ships a little less to reduce the depth and drive more often,” he told the “Rheinische Post”.
The plastic manufacturer Covestro also stated that they maintain special measures in order to maintain production despite low levels: “We react with the use of additional ships and an increase in the frequency of the journeys, the construction of supplies for raw materials and the reduction of end and coupling products,” said the speaker of the chemical company.
RWI Leibniz Institute sees growth risk
The RWI Leibniz Institute for Economic Research sees a threat to economic growth in the low levels of the Rhine. RWI researcher Manuel Frondel therefore demands that the infrastructure fund soon be used to deepen the Rhine.
dpa
Source: Stern
