Inland Water Freight Transportation
Description
Companies in this industry provide inland water transportation of cargo on US lakes, rivers, or intracoastal waterways. Major companies include independents, such as American Commercial Barge Line, Ingram Barge, and Kirby Inland Marine, and captive subsidiaries of companies that transport commodities, such as American River Transportation (owned by Archer Daniels Midland).
The US inland water freight transportation industry includes about 300 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $6 billion.
The industry does not include companies that provide transportation of cargo on the Great Lakes System; those operations are covered in the Coastal and Great Lakes Freight Transportation profile.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Demand is driven primarily by the level of agricultural exports, petroleum refining, coal usage, and chemical shipments. Large companies have advantages in handling a broad range of cargo types, along with economies of scale in purchasing and marketing. Small companies compete by specializing in particular cargo types or services, subcontracting to larger companies, and offering responsive customer service. The US industry is highly concentrated: the largest 50 companies generate about 95% of industry revenue.
Inland barge companies compete with other methods for transporting bulk materials and liquids, including trucks, railroads, and pipelines.
PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Major services are transportation of dry bulks (about 40%) and bulk of liquids and gases (about 20%). Freight transportation services consist of dry cargo (such as grain, coal, steel, fertilizers, and aggregates) and liquid cargo (refined petroleum products, petrochemicals, black oils, and agricultural chemicals). Other services include towing services by water and navigational services for marine vessels.
Dry cargo barges include both covered and open hopper barges, used for grain, coal, steel, and other bulk commodities, and deck barges, used to haul machinery and other oversized cargoes. A typical barge, which is 200 feet long and 35 feet wide, can carry 1,750 tons of cargo, which represents the capacity of 16 railcars or 70 trailer trucks.
Liquid cargo is carried in tank barges. The capacity of a 30,000 barrel inland tank barge is the equivalent of 50 railroad tank cars or 160 tractor-trailer tank trucks. Depending on the requirements of the cargo being carried, tank barges may include heating or refrigeration systems, stainless steel tanks, aluminum tanks, or specially coated tanks. Older single-hull tank barges are being retrofitted or replaced with double-hull barges to minimize cargo leakage into waterways. Federal law requires all tank barges to have double hulls by 2015.
Barges are moved by towboats, which can move as many as 40 barges at a time. Large towboats operate like a freight train, picking up and dropping off barges as they move along the river. Midsize towboats are used on the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway, where locks and dams limit the size of tows to about five barges. The smallest towboats, known as push boats, are used to move one or two barges at a time around ports and harbors.
The US inland water freight transportation industry includes about 300 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $6 billion.
The industry does not include companies that provide transportation of cargo on the Great Lakes System; those operations are covered in the Coastal and Great Lakes Freight Transportation profile.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Demand is driven primarily by the level of agricultural exports, petroleum refining, coal usage, and chemical shipments. Large companies have advantages in handling a broad range of cargo types, along with economies of scale in purchasing and marketing. Small companies compete by specializing in particular cargo types or services, subcontracting to larger companies, and offering responsive customer service. The US industry is highly concentrated: the largest 50 companies generate about 95% of industry revenue.
Inland barge companies compete with other methods for transporting bulk materials and liquids, including trucks, railroads, and pipelines.
PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Major services are transportation of dry bulks (about 40%) and bulk of liquids and gases (about 20%). Freight transportation services consist of dry cargo (such as grain, coal, steel, fertilizers, and aggregates) and liquid cargo (refined petroleum products, petrochemicals, black oils, and agricultural chemicals). Other services include towing services by water and navigational services for marine vessels.
Dry cargo barges include both covered and open hopper barges, used for grain, coal, steel, and other bulk commodities, and deck barges, used to haul machinery and other oversized cargoes. A typical barge, which is 200 feet long and 35 feet wide, can carry 1,750 tons of cargo, which represents the capacity of 16 railcars or 70 trailer trucks.
Liquid cargo is carried in tank barges. The capacity of a 30,000 barrel inland tank barge is the equivalent of 50 railroad tank cars or 160 tractor-trailer tank trucks. Depending on the requirements of the cargo being carried, tank barges may include heating or refrigeration systems, stainless steel tanks, aluminum tanks, or specially coated tanks. Older single-hull tank barges are being retrofitted or replaced with double-hull barges to minimize cargo leakage into waterways. Federal law requires all tank barges to have double hulls by 2015.
Barges are moved by towboats, which can move as many as 40 barges at a time. Large towboats operate like a freight train, picking up and dropping off barges as they move along the river. Midsize towboats are used on the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway, where locks and dams limit the size of tows to about five barges. The smallest towboats, known as push boats, are used to move one or two barges at a time around ports and harbors.
Table of Contents
- Industry Overview
- Quarterly Industry Update
- Business Challenges
- Business Trends
- Industry Opportunities
- Call Preparation Questions
- Financial Information
- Industry Forecast
- Web Links and Acronyms
Search Inside Report
Pricing
Currency Rates
Questions or Comments?
Our team has the ability to search within reports to verify it suits your needs. We can also help maximize your budget by finding sections of reports you can purchase.
