The river transport market - France

1.2 European river freight transport on the decline

inland waterway freight transport in Europe is experiencing a slight decline. Indeed, after an insignificant evolution until ****, the quantity of goods had an unusual decrease in **** of *.*% confirmed by a year **** also relatively weak.

evolution of goods transported by inland waterways European Union, **** - ****, thousand tonnes Source: ****

germany and the Netherlands are the major players in inland waterway transport in Europe, ahead of Romania, Belgium and France. The sharp decline in **** was particularly marked in Germany, with a **% drop in goods transported. However, Germany remained the leading European country, with **.** million kilometers travelled by river in ****. Goods transport by inland waterway in the European Union Millions of kilometers Source: SDES This slight reduction in the quantity of goods transported by inland waterway can also be seen in the changing distribution of means of transport. In fact, the proportion of goods transported via the road network has seen a small but steady increase since ****, to the detriment of rail and river, having lost almost *% of combined share in * years. evolution of the breakdown of internal freight transport modes Europe, **** - ****, percentage Source: ****

1.3 The French market

waterborne transport in France includes maritime, coastal and river transport. It is important to note that river transport represents a very small part of waterborne transport in France. In fact, the total sales of river transport corresponded to only *% of the sales of waterborne transport in France. It is also important to note that water transport is mainly used for freight (***), while passenger transport accounts for a much smaller share. Breakdown of total waterborne transport sales however, waterborne passenger transport employs more people than freight in France. If we look at the evolution of the workforce of French waterborne transport companies before the health crisis, the two sectors experienced an almost constant evolution, followed by slight growth for passenger transport from **** to ****, with a *% increase in the workforce. Workforce A similar trend has been observed for total sales in the water transport market in France since ****. In fact, after insignificant fluctuations until ****, the market experienced strong growth of **% in * years before a slight decline in ****. Water transport market Total sales however, a look at the evolution of passenger transport sales shows that this sector has suffered greatly from the health crisis, with an alarming drop of **% for maritime and coastal transport, ...

1.4 Impact of the Covid-19 crisis

As we saw earlier, the health crisis has had a major impact on passenger transport in France. The following graph shows the extent to which the seasonality of activity has been disrupted in ****. Note that the graph is based on ***, taking the average level reached in **** to be equal to ***. In a normal year like ****, we can see that the market is highly seasonal. In fact, river passenger transport peaks in August, and is very active from April to October. In ****, confinement completely wiped out the start of activity in March, before a sluggish recovery in July.

These data also bear witness to the **% drop in sales from **** to ****. In ****, however, summer seasonal activity is expected to pick up again, with a peak already more than double that reached in ****.

Sales index, river passenger transport

2.1 Demand by type of goods transported

it's important to note that river freight transport in France accounts for a very small share of all inland freight transport in France. In fact, the majority of freight is transported by road, well ahead of rail, which itself accounts for a much larger share than river transport. It is interesting to note, however, that from **** to ****, rail transport experienced a relatively greater decline, with -*%, compared with -*% for river transport and -*% for road transport. Breakdown of inland freight transport France, billions of tonne-kilometers Source: SDES although it accounts for a small share of freight transport in France, river transport is mainly used to transport ores, peat and other extractive products. In ****, **.* million tonnes of this type of goods were transported on French waterways. In ****, this mode of transport accounted for **% of all goods of this type. Inland waterway transport by type of goods France, ****, million tonnes https://www.statistiques.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/memento-de-statistiques-des-transports-**** It's interesting to compare this breakdown with the figures for all inland freight transport. Indeed, while the classes "Minerals, peat and other extraction products" and "Products of agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing" accounted for over **% of French river transport in ****, they represent a much smaller ...

2.2 Decline in international river freight transport

The French river network is also used to transport goods traded internationally. The figure below shows that the latter has been declining slightly since ****, while domestic freight traffic is showing a slight upward trend. Thus, a gap is slowly opening up between these quantities of goods.

Transport on the French network France, million tonnes Source: SDES observation of the quantities of imported and exported goods transiting the French river network shows that the majority of countries exchanging goods with France by river are the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. With the exception of exports to Germany, Europe's leader in the transport of goods by river, which increased by **% from **** to ****, the quantities of goods exchanged with the Netherlands and Belgium appear to be stagnating, or all show a slight downward trend. International transport Exports, thousands of tonnes Source: SDES International transport Imports, million tonnes Source: ****

2.3 Demand for river passenger transport on the decline

the breakdown of household consumption of transport services shows that sea and river transport represent a very small share of total passenger transport activity in France (***). It is interesting to note that, despite the sharp drop in air traffic in **** due to the health crisis, sea and river transport is the only means of transport whose share did not increase from **** to ****. Breakdown of household consumption of transport services in percentage The trend in passenger numbers at France's main ports is a good indicator of the level of activity in river passenger transport in France. We can see a slight downward trend, with an already relatively sharp drop from **** to **** before the health crisis, followed by a logical sharp decline in activity, with -**% of passengers from **** to ****. Total number of passengers in France's main ports million passengers This sharp decline in **** is linked to the sharp drop in tourist activity in France, which is the main driver of river passenger transport. Thus, the **% drop in the number of foreign visitors from **** to **** helps to explain the sharp fall in French river passenger traffic. However, this sharp drop is preceded by a slow-growth dynamic of +*% from **** to ****, which is not reflected ...

3.1 A high concentration of traffic on the widest lanes

A look at the typology of French-licensed vessels shows that vessels weighing between *** and *** tonnes and those over *,*** tonnes account for more than half of the total. Fleet of licensed boats France, ****, number of boats Source: SDES This distribution is strongly correlated with that of the waterway network. Waterways suitable for boats weighing *** to *** tonnes and those over *,*** tonnes make up more than **% of the entire French network. It is also interesting to note that the difference between the lengths considered in the statistics and the lengths used, which is a good indicator of the level of operation of the waterways, is smallest for boats over **** tonnes. This means that the waterways adapted to transporting the biggest boats are proportionally the most heavily used. Waterway network utilization France, ****, kilometers Source: ****

3.2 Freight traffic on the Seine

a study of the distribution of transport by river basin shows a clear lead for the Seine over all the other river basins, which have been at relatively similar levels since ****. The Seine accounted for over **% of French river transport in ****. For almost all river basins, we can see stagnation, with slight downward trends in some cases. River transport for the main river basins France (***), billion tonne-kilometers Source: SDES The pre-eminence of the Seine is reflected in the distribution of traffic among France's main river ports. The Autonomous Port of Paris accounted for more than half of total French traffic in ****.

Traffic of main river ports France, ****, million tonnes Source: ****

4.1 Price trends for river freight transport

The price of transporting goods generally depends on the volume and weight of the goods, the distance of the journey, and the mode of transport used. Freight and warehousing price indices can be used to visualize the dynamics of price trends for the various means of transporting goods. We can see that river transport is the mode whose price has changed the least between **** and ****, with an increase of less than *%.

Freight and warehousing price indices France, index base *** in **** Source: ****

Fuel costs are generally costs on which carriers prefer to make savings. After a period of growth and stabilization at around ** euros, the price of a barrel of oil plummeted by **% in the first quarter of **** with the Covid-** crisis, before returning to its previous level.

Brent oil price per barrel World, ****-****, in euros Source: ****

4.2 River passenger transport offer

Passenger river transport in France can be broken down into three sub-sections: promenade cruises, cruises with accommodation and urban mobility[***].

The promenade cruise corresponds to a trip lasting from one hour to a full day. This tourist offer is mainly available in major French cities. Services range from simple promenade cruises (***) to catered cruises, of which the Bateaux Mouches company is the most famous French example. Event cruises are also available, usually organized for companies or special occasions such as weddings.

Accommodation cruises last several days on river liners or hotel barges. The aim of this type of service is to discover a region and its gastronomy, with stopovers at tourist sites.

Urban river mobility has been introduced in major French cities, with Batobus in particular offering a service on the Seine with * stopovers at Parisian tourist sites.

4.3 Development of electric river transport

The main industry dynamic in France is the development of electric boats, with Green River Cruises, for example, launching its first ***% electric tour boat in October ****. The company now offers several types of cruises on the Seine with "Between friends" or "Between colleagues" formulas ranging from a one-hour half-tour of the National Assembly starting at ** euros per person to a "Day on a boat" starting at *** euros per person[***].

The electrically-powered restaurant boat "Ducasse sur Seine" was also launched in September ****. This boat is capable of carrying *** people for three hours without recharging.

River transport is also driven by the desire to avoid traffic congestion in major cities and transport larger quantities of goods. Casino and Franprix, for ecological and economic reasons, have already organized the delivery of some of their stores by river[***].

However, the development of electric power for river transport remains limited by the lack of autonomy inherent in electric propulsion.

5.1 Tax advantages for river transport

When transporting goods by inland waterway, prices must be set according to :

The services provided by the carrier; The length of time the vehicle is immobilized during loading and unloading; The time required to transport the freight; Fuel costs.

France has a number of tax provisions specific to domestic shipping.

Article *** sexdecies of the French General Tax Code exempts capital gains on the sale of goods vessels. An income tax exemption of up to ***,*** euros per disposal is provided for on capital gains realized by river freight transport companies.

Article **** I, *° of the French General Tax Code provides for a reduction in the Cotisation Foncièfor small-scale inland waterway businesses, provided they are registered with the trade register and employ no more than three people. The value of the reduction depends on the number of employees.

The inland navigation sector also benefits from a special tax exemption for non-road diesel fuel. Article *** bis of the French Customs Code provides for exemption from the domestic tax on the consumption of energy products (***) in the case of energy products intended for use as fuel for river freight transport.

5.2 Plan to revive France's waterways

French waterways have been the focus of several development projects.

The French government sees river transport as an ecological objective. For example, the public body Voies Navigables de France, responsible for the national river network, will benefit from over *** million euros to be invested in modernization work in **** and ****. This organization used to receive only *** to *** million euros a year before the Mobility Orientation Act increased this amount to *** million in ****.

The Relance plan therefore offers an additional *** million per year over ****-****, enabling Voies Navigables de France to finance around *** projects. For the most part, these are small-scale projects with strong local implications. These include lock modernizations, dam renovations and the development of new remote control techniques for locks, in conjunction with the future deployment of fiber optics [***].

6.1 Segmentation

• CMA CGM
• Marfret
• Compagnie fuviale de transport - CFT
• Vedettes de Paris
• Compagnie des bateaux mouches
• Transdev
• E2F
• Haropa Port - Port du Havre
• Sogestran Group
• VNF Voies Navigables de France
• Coalis
• Naviland Cargo
• Viking cruises
• Château Coliving
• Chez Nestor (Dovevivo)
• Coliving.com
• Colivys
• Ecla (Uxco Group)
• Habyt Common
• Hife Coliving
• La Roche Cotard Coliving
• Mansiones Coliving
• Sharies Coliving
• Tendoors Coliving
• Urban campus
• Uxco Group
• Woodeum (Altarea)
• Port de Colmar Neuf-Brisach
• Rhenus logistics
• ULS Urban Logistic Solutions
• Port de Dunkerque
• Touax
• Port de Villefranche-sur-Saône