Inland freight water transport revenue in Belgium 2010-2022

Up until a few years ago, inland waterways were considered as a popular mode for freight transportation in Belgium. However, over the years, their demand has witnessed a decline, due to slower transit times, increased costs and the rapid developments in road freight logistics. As a result, industry revenues are projected to decline from 239 million U.S. dollars in 2016 to 238 million U.S. dollars by 2022. In fact, road freight transport accounts for over 70 percent of the total inland freight transport in the country. As of 2018, the total road freight transport volume amounted to nearly 32.6 billion tonne-kilometers. In comparison, the transport volume in the inland waterway freight sector amounted to approximately 11.3 billion tonne-kilometers.

According to data from Eurocanal.com, there are about 54 waterways in the country including rivers, lakes and canal, with a combined length of approximately 1516 kilometres. Amongst the main waterways include the Albert Canal, which connects Antwerp to Liege and the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal.