Inland Waterways and Short Sea Shipping - a feasible alternative for truck transportation in Sweden? - A Case Study of Container Shipping Between Uddevalla and Gothenburg -

Abstract: Within the European Union, Inland Waterway Transportation accounts for the lowest share of goods transport, with only 5.8%. In Sweden, the share is even lower where Inland Waterway Transportation accounts for less than 1% of the goods transports. Today, goods brought in Sweden are usually unloaded to one of the main ports and then transported via rail or road freight to the final destination within the country. With an increased volume of cargo expected in the coming years, the Swedish Transport Administration is interested in achieving a better balance of utilization between the modes of transportation, in order to help alleviate some of the strain from road and rail freight, and instead use inland waterways to their full potential. With the purpose to investigate if inland waterway transportation on short distances could be a viable alternative to road freight, a case study has been conducted on a potential route between Port of Uddevalla and Port of Gothenburg. In the study, focus has been on containerized goods moved on a self-propelling barge with a capacity of 208 TEU, considering multiple load factors. The inland waterway solution has been approached from the perspectives of the market, environmental and financial performance. Throughout the study, data has primarily been gathered from interviews, questionnaires, and reviewing academic articles. The market perspective is seen through the lens of the companies that move the goods between the two ports but also from the ports themselves and the government officials. The environmental and financial perspectives are calculated on a theoretical basis because there is no transportation of containers on the inland waterway today. Therefore, an online calculator was used to see the potential climate gases and pollutants emitted by the vessel in comparison with the truck, while the financial perspective was calculated based on interview information and official prices. It was concluded that the inland waterway alternative would not prove more environmentally friendly and neither financially feasible than the road-only transportation due to the short distance and low volumes. From the conducted questionnaires, it was also seen that the actual cargo owners might not be open to adopt an alternative that is more costly, less environmentally friendly and which will compromise flexibility and lead time.