BASEL - Port operators said Rhine levels in early July supported normal loading, a relief after summers when barges had to run light. Fuel, grain and containers moved without the surcharges that appear when the river turns into a pavement.
Switzerland's chemistry and pharma cluster still needs that liquid motorway. Trains help. They do not replace it.
Climate as a shipping note
Every normal July is now reported as if it were a surprise. That, more than any single low-water crisis, shows how the baseline has shifted. See also our life sciences corridor piece.