Book Description

This report of the National Waterways Study discusses factors which influence the decision of companies to use water transportation. Generally, the decision to use water transportation is a strategic decision to commit a company to a water-based logistics system for a long period of time -- often the economic life of a utility plant or grain-exporting facility. As a result, the decision to use water transportation is integrated with capital, sourcing, and marketing requirements. One of the primary purposes of this report is to identify those industry-wide trends or changes that can be expected to influence the future use of water transportation. Changes in three industries are expected to dominate changes in water transportation use to the year 2000. These industries are: coal, petroleum and petroleum products, and agriculture. This report also discusses the following industries: fertilizer, steel, chemicals and forest products. (Author).