Low Rhine levels begin to disrupt German industry

German companies are reporting growing disruption from Rhine water levels that have hit record lows, with chemical producers, utilities, steelmakers and

agricultural traders warning of higher costs, transport bottlenecks and curbed production.



While Germany has not yet suffered the widespread production outages experienced during previous Rhine crises, traders said on Tuesday that it was no longer possible to book some cargo shipments after weeks of drought and companies are increasingly reporting operational issues.



Chemicals company Covestro said the lack of transport capacity could not be offset fully despite shifting volumes to trucks and trains wherever possible and it has declared force majeure for products including polyether polyols used in mattresses and refrigerator insulation.