Decarbonization Breakbulk & Project Cargo
Nutovych said the use of inland waterways delivers benefits beyond logistics.
“ Economically it supports industrial activity in Brazil, including the reopening of the Enseada Shipyard in Bahia, and stimulates employment and growth in mining regions and along the waterway corridor,” he said.
For mining companies, inland waterway transport can provide greater carrying capacity, reduce logistics costs, and accelerate product flow to market by scaling cargo movement.
“ It also supports a shift away from road-heavy transportation toward more efficient waterborne solutions, aligning with the broader push for cleaner, more sustainable bulk movement,” Nutovych said.
The fleet of barges is expected to increase capacity for more eco-efficient water-bound transport while elevating Brazil’ s presence in the global commodities market. Nutovych said AAL anticipates more operations of this kind, particularly as inland corridors develop. develop an inland logistics hub in the southeastern part of the state. Along with leveraging railroads and major highways with connections to coastal ports, the hub will rely on the region’ s Columbia-Snake River system, which stretches from British Columbia, Canada, through Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming to the Pacific Ocean in Oregon.
One objective of the hub is to ease truck congestion in the Puget Sound metro area and improve supply chain efficiency. The NWSA has been implementing a growth plan since 2020 that includes infrastructure expansion and intermodal enhancements to extend the gateway’ s reach into the US interior.
In Europe, work is underway on the 66-mile Seine- Nord Europe Canal, touted as Europe’ s answer to the Suez Canal and France’ s first new waterway to be built since the 1970s. The $ 6 billion canal will allow super barges weighing up to 4,400 tons— the equivalent of 400 trucks of cargo— to travel between France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Increased use of rivers and inland waterways could help shift project freight traffic away from busy roadways. iStock / Getty Images Plus
According to the Rosario Board of Trade, the largescale mining development projected in the Cuyo and Northwest Argentine regions will likely require river transport via the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway of processed lithium, copper, silver, gold, zinc, and lead— which often ship as breakbulk cargo— for export, along with the transport of equipment to support production.
Global expansions
Investments in global inland waterways range from targeted projects in the US to massive expansions in Asia and Europe.
In the US, inland waterway infrastructure has been expanding in recent months to support supply chains, critical infrastructure, and maritime workforce development. In July, the US Department of Transportation added 848 new miles of navigable waterways to the US Marine Highway Program. The network now covers 27,139 miles across 35 designated routes.
On Feb. 5, the Northwest Seaport Alliance( NWSA) of Seattle and Tacoma and the inland ports of Benton, Pasco and Walla Walla in Washington signed an agreement to
David Edwards-May, consultant, publisher and former president of UK nonprofit Inland Waterways International( IWI), told the Journal of Commerce that the canal could serve as a key route for breakbulk and project cargo while helping shift oversized freight off European roadways.
“ That means you’ ve got one-fifth of France— the whole Paris region down to Normandy— that will henceforth be linked to the Rhine [ River ],” May said.
In southern China, construction is nearing completion on the 82-mile Pinglu Canal, one of the world’ s largest canal construction projects and the country’ s first riverto-sea canal to be built since the founding of the People’ s Republic of China in 1949. The $ 10 billion canal will cross mountains and plains to connect China’ s inland waterways with the South China Sea. The canal is set to open to navigation by the end of 2026.
The Pinglu Canal project marks the beginning of China’ s larger overall push to expand inland shipping, as the country plans to establish a 15,500-mile network of inland waterways by 2035.
“ The bet the Chinese are making is that the temporary upheaval involved with developing new waterways for
12 Journal of Commerce | March 2026 www. joc. com