Low water levels in European waterways and Panama Canal threaten to disrupt logistics
As heatwave after heatwave has hit parts of Europe, water levels in rivers such as the Rhine and the Danube have impacted inland freight operations, causing disruption to automotive logistics networks and the introduction of surcharges. Meanwhile, similar issues in the Panama Canal have led to higher international logistics costs.
The Rhine's water level in Cologne fell to record lows in 2026, according to WSV in Germany
Raimond Spekking
Extreme weather is always a risk in the world of logistics, from natural disasters like the recent earthquake in Japan to heatwaves across Europe in the summer of 2026. But one of the most recent, and perhaps lesser known, ways the weather can impact logistics is low water levels.
The Rhine
As logistics provider IFE Global recently identified, reduced navigability of rivers like Europe's Rhine and Danube due to low water levels has had a number of effects on logistics in the region, including reduced inland cargo capacity, longer transit times, increased transport costs and potential low-water surcharges, and greater demand on road and rail alternatives.
In July 2026, shipping companies including Maersk and OOCL introduced a Low Water Surcharge as a result of water levels impacting inland transportation along the Rhine – one of the world’s most frequented inland waterways.
OOCL noted that during periods of exceptionally low water levels, barge operators are no longer contractually obliged to transport containers at standard rates and conditions.
"These restrictions are the result of force majeure circumstances caused by the extraordinary river conditions and are necessary to ensure the safety of personnel, vessels and cargo," the company noted in a July statement.
"The low water situation is an exceptional and unforeseeable circumstance that is beyond our control and cannot be predicted – neither the severity nor the duration," Maersk said in a statement in July. "We will do our utmost to manage the cargo flows efficiently throughout this period."
Likewise, Hapag-Lloyd introduced a Rhine River low water pass-through surcharge for import and export cargo in July. It noted that congestion and low water levels have affected barge services to and from Rotterdam and Antwerp. To mitigate the impact of the disruption, Hapag-Lloyd offered rail and truck shuttles to Duisburg and Emmerich with onward barge transport.
Tier-one supplier to the automotive industry Thyssenkrupp Steel told Reuters in July that the low water levels affected the supply of raw materials to its Duisburg plant, prompting “slightly reduced blast furnace production because of the somewhat restricted supply of raw materials”.
On average, roughly 200 million tonnes of cargo is transported along the Rhine each year. The fleet travelling on the Rhine is estimated to total around 6,900 vessels, of which 4,400 are motor cargo vessels.
While these circumstances are exceptional, they are not unprecedented. In the summer of 2022, large areas of the Rhine were temporarily closed to cargo vessels. Ford faced disruption to freight operations in the Rhine due to the low water levels at the time, having to reduce the number of vehicles loaded per vessel from its plant in Cologne.
The Danube
Another important European waterway – the Danube – has also seen low water levels this summer. In August, Austria's Federal Ministry of Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI), issued a statement notifying people that the Danube is "currently experiencing exceptionally low water levels"; in fact, the water levels in the free-flowing sections of the river were reported to be around 60 cm below the long-term low water level value.
The BMIMI noted that "freight shipping has largely come to a halt" and said that they, alongside state waterway operator Viadonau, were taking the situation seriously and intensifying the existing measures to ensure shipping.
"The Danube is one of Austria's most important transport routes – for freight transport, tourism and thousands of jobs along the river," said Austrian federal minister Peter Hanke. "If climate change puts this infrastructure under pressure, then it is our duty to invest with foresight instead of waiting."
According to the BMIMI, the low water period this August is comparable to record lows in 2003 and 2018. In 2018, transport volumes on the Austrian Danube fell by 25.1%, from 9.6 million to 7.2 million tons.
"We have learned from the experiences of 2003 and 2018 – our maintenance today is even more proactive and data-driven than ever before," said Hans-Peter Hasenbichler, managing director of Viadonau. "That we can ensure navigability despite low water is the result of years of consistent work on the waterway."
In addition to traditional maintenance, Viadonau is currently testing what is known as 'Flexible Infrastructure': unmotorised transport barges loaded with gravel from maintenance dredging, positioned laterally outside the navigable channel and secured with anchors. This pilot project seeks to direct water from the Danube into the central navigable channel, where higher flow speeds result in fewer gravel deposits and thus less dredging effort.
More low water levels to come
According to experts, low water levels might be more common in the years to come – and are certainly a risk that but be accounted for in automotive supply chain planning, where a supply chain relies on inland waterways for transportation.
"What we are observing here is not an exception, but part of a longer-term development," explained Professor Helmut Habersack, head of the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and River Research at BOKU University in Vienna. "Extreme low water periods will become more frequent in the course of climate change – and sometimes much earlier in the summer, as we are currently experiencing."
Just as waterway operators like Viadonau are preparing to combat this challenge, so too should OEMs, tier suppliers and logistics providers that use such waterways to move goods.
The Panama Canal
It's not just Europe that is having issues with low water levels. These issues are also affecting operations through the Panama Canal, a critical maritime link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Unlike the Rhine and Danube, the Panama Canal's locks rely on freshwater from the Gatún Lake reservoir, meaning reduced rainfall and water availability can directly constrain vessel operations.
In July 2026, the Panama Canal Authority announced a series of reductions to the maximum permitted draft for vessels using its Neopanamax locks, limiting how heavily ships could be loaded when transiting the canal. The authority cited water levels in Gatún Lake and projections for the coming weeks as the reasons for these measures.
The restrictions have had direct implications for shipping capacity. OOCL noted that the draft reductions "reduce the amount of cargo large vessels can carry through the canal", increasing transit and booking costs. According to OOCL, many ocean carriers announced surcharges ranging from $100 per TEU up to $320 per TEU tied to these low-water draft limitations in the Panama Canal.
The situation subsequently prompted further action from the Panama Canal Authority. On August 20, it announced that daily transit capacity will be reduced from September 3, with nine Neopanamax slots and 25 Panamax slots available each day. From September 15, Panamax capacity will fall further to 23 daily slots. The authority said the measures were necessary because precipitation in the canal watershed remained below expectations despite the arrival of the rainy season.
The measures have specific relevance to automotive logistics as the Panama Canal Authority's revised allocation system explicitly includes vehicle carriers and ro-ro vessels amongst the vessel categories affected by the changes. It also warned that fewer daily transits could increase waiting times for vessels arriving without a secured reservation.
The authority has attributed the deteriorating water conditions partly to the developing El Niño phenomenon and said it will continue monitoring rainfall, watershed inflows and lake levels. It also warned that further operational adjustments may be required if conditions worsen.
