The Rhine is Europe’s most important navigable waterway and offers clear logistics advantages to companies set up in Alsace. River transport has been growing in France since the mid 90’s and has progressed by 43% over the last 10 years with regard to the large-gauge network.

Soaring river transport exchanges

Container traffic has increased to now account for 15% of total traffic as compared to 4% 20 years ago. Alsace benefits fully from this growth thanks to the easy access to European markets. In the heart of a navigable waterways network with large-gauge capacity, exchanges with Central Europe (via the Rhine-Main-Danube canal) and northern Europe are commonplace, including combined transport through the Alsace-Flanders-Express for example. This rail connection enables Antwerp to be reached in 12 hours. The Zeebruge terminal is also served. Another rail service to Le Havre has been operating since 2005.

The port infrastructures are high capacity and modern. Followed closely by Mulhouse, the Strasbourg Port is the 2^nd river port in France. It extends over a hundred km and forms an important economic pole with 350 companies and some 13,000 direct jobs. There are 600,000 m² of warehouses devoted to logistics activities.

The Mulhouse ports offer storage and warehousing space totaling 150,000m². The largest container gantry crane in France is in service there; it is part of RheinPorts that brings together the ports of Basel (CH), Weil am Rhein (D), and Mulhouse-Rhine. This association form the 2^nd largest port on the Rhine after Duisburg.