Inland Barge Transport
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Industry Overview
The US inland barge transport industry consists of about 350 companies with combined annual revenue of over $2 billion. Major companies include independents, such as Ingram Barge, American Commercial Lines, and Kirby Corporation, along with captive subsidiaries of large producers of energy or agriculture commodities, such as MEMCO Barge (owned by American Electric Power) and American River Transportation (owned by Archer Daniels Midland Company). The industry is highly concentrated: the largest 50 companies have over 85 percent of industry revenue.
Competitive Landscape
Demand is driven primarily by the level of agricultural exports, petroleum refining, coal usage, and chemical shipments. Large companies have advantages in handling a broad range of cargo types, along with economies of scale in purchasing and marketing. Small companies compete by specializing in particular cargo types or services, subcontracting to larger companies, and offering responsive customer service. Average annual revenue per employee is about $200,000 for small companies and over $300,000 for large companies.
Inland barge companies compete with other methods for transporting bulk materials and liquids, including trucks, railroads, and pipelines.
Products, Operations & Technology
Inland barge transport services include freight transportation (92 percent of industry revenue); towing and tugboat services (6 percent); and other related services. Freight transportation services consist of dry cargo (such as grain, coal, steel, fertilizers, and aggregates) and liquid cargo (refined petroleum products, petrochemicals, black oils, and agricultural chemicals). Dry cargo is the dominate type of freight shipped by volume and dry cargo barges make up about 85 percent of the US barge fleet.
Dry cargo barges include both covered and open hopper barges, used for grain, coal, steel, and other bulk commodities, and deck barges, used to haul machinery and other oversized cargoes. A typical barge, which is 200 feet long and 35 feet wide, can carry 1,500 tons of cargo, or the equivalent of 15 railcars or 60 trailer trucks.
Liquid cargo is carried in tank barges. The capacity of a 30,000 barrel inland tank barge is the equivalent of 40 railroad tank cars or 150 tractor-trailer tank trucks. Depending on the requirements of the cargo being carried, tank barges may include heating or refrigeration systems, stainless steel tanks, aluminum tanks, or specially coated tanks. Older single-hull tank barges are being retrofitted or replaced with double-hull barges to minimize cargo leakage into waterways. Federal law requires all tank barges to have double hulls by 2015.
Barges are moved by towboats whose engines may vary from 500 to 9,000 horsepower. The more powerful towboats, known as line boats, are used along the lower Mississippi River to tow as many as 40 barges at a time. These line hauls operate like a freight train, picking up and dropping off barges as they move along the river. Midsize towboats, also called line boats, are used on the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway, where locks and dams limit the size of tows to about five barges. The smallest towboats, known as push boats, are used to move one or two barges at a time around ports and harbors.
Larger barge companies use technology to increase the efficiency of their operations and improve customer service. Computerized logistics systems help schedule and route shipments. GPS is used to track shipments and provide accurate navigation information to pilots. Wireless communications allow pilots to stay up-to-the-minute on river and weather conditions. Many companies also provide websites that allow customers to track shipments and expected delivery times.