The Rhine River, a vital shipping waterway for Europe, is facing challenges due to climate change.

Companies along the main trade route are scrambling to adapt to the climate issue, as water levels often drop to prevent shipping from late summer to fall.

Companies are shifting logistics to trains and trucks, with manufacturers stockpiling commodities, utilities storing gasoline, and freight companies upgrading fleets with shallow-water barges.

As warmer winters mean less snow to maintain levels during dry summers, costly and inconvenient solutions are needed to avoid extensive shutdowns due to disturbances in the important transport route.

The river’s water levels have reached unprecedented lows in 2018, cutting €5 billion from German industrial production.

The German statistics agency reported the lowest Rhine and inland waterway commerce volume since 1990 last year.