Tactical Network Planning for Intermodal Barge Transportation Considering Varying Water Levels

Barge transportation provides a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to road transport, offering solutions to reduce congestion and lower emissions. However, increasing drought frequency and severity, driven by climate change, along with human interventions such as dam operations, dredging, and water withdrawals, cause fluctuations in water levels in rivers and canals that jeopardize its reliability and efficiency. These variations, including shallow water conditions, reduced water levels, and restricted navigable depths, directly impact barge operations by limiting transportation capacity. A barge’s load capacity depends not only on its physical characteristics but also on the available water level along its route. Insufficient or diminished water levels impose draught restrictions that constrain freight volume and weight, creating operational challenges that hinder carriers’ ability to meet shipper demands efficiently and maintain profitability. This study presents a tactical planning framework for consolidation-based barge transportation that explicitly models the relationship between water levels and barge load capacity. The framework integrates vessel characteristics and predicted water levels to optimize resource utilization and maximize expected carrier revenue while ensuring reliable demand fulfillment. Through computational experiments conducted using a commercial software, we analyze how varying water levels in rivers and canals impact profitability, operational efficiency, shipper satisfaction, and the service network structure.