Germany’s shippers have transported because of the low water in the past year, significantly less goods. According to the Federal statistical office, the amount of 223 million tonnes in the year 2017 has fallen to 198 million tons in the past year. This is a decrease of 11.1 percent. The reason is the low water levels of the main inland waterways in the second half of the year.
The statistician reported that from August to November, the transport volumes of the shippers, respectively, in the two-digit percentage range. In November was recorded with a Minus of 34 percent, the highest decline. In December, the water levels returned to normal slowly – and thus the number of transported goods.
The water levels were dropped after the hot summer and the dry autumn 2018. Ships could not be fully loaded, the cost for goods rose. Companies such as thyssenkrupp, Arcelor, Shell, as well as the chemical companies Covestro and BASF had to cut their production, and part of your earnings targets. Thus, the German economic performance was also affected as a whole. In the third quarter, the GDP had contracted by 0.2 percent in the last quarter of 2018, it stagnated.
