Hub-and-Spoke Networks to Increase the Scope of Container-on-Barge Transport

Container-on-barge transport has developed successfully in Europe during the past two decades, but this transport business primarily focused on maritime container flows and has therefore developed as a typical hinterland transport system. Accessibility and sustainability present a great challenge to increase the container-on-barge market share within as well as outside hinterland corridors. The latter implies the development of intermodal barge transport of cargo that has no direct relation with the seaport, which would be a completely new market for container-on-barge transport. A new type of container-on-barge-services, that is, hub-and-spoke services, can pave the way to open up this continental freight market for container-on-barge transport. A cost model is used to demonstrate the potential performance of such barge services compared with traditional services. The results of the analysis indicate that the most promising strategy to develop hub-and-spoke services is that the well-developed hinterland barge services become a part of the hub-and-spoke network. In this way, the continental cargo flows can be bundled with maritime cargo flows. The effectiveness of hub-and-spoke services, however, depends on several conditions, in particular, the network configuration (i.e., transport volumes, sailing distances, quality of waterways) as well as the type and performance of container exchange in the hub.