Container logistics is under increasing pressure to deliver efficient and sustainable hinterland transport. Achieving this requires improving the performance of environmentally friendly modes, such as inland waterway transport. This study examines the potential of cargo consolidation as a strategy to tackle suboptimal filling rates of containers, one of the most persistent inefficiencies in the Rhine-Alpine Corridor. We develop an integrated optimization model that holistically accounts for the operational and spatial requirements of consolidation, assessing the sensitivity of the strategy to labor costs, fuel prices, value of time, and vessel costs. The results show that, despite additional handling and coordination costs, consolidation can reduce overall transport costs by up to 4 % and attract as much as 42 % more container volumes to IWT on specific origin-destination connections. Vessel occupation rates emerge as a decisive factor in determining consolidation benefits, while cost parameters such as labor and fuel prices strongly influence outcomes. The research illustrates how optimizing this strategy can contribute to the sustainability of port-hinterland container transport and discusses the conditions required for its realization.

Inland waterway transport (IWT) stands out as one of the most sustainable modes of freight transport for port-hinterland connections. However, the full potential of IWT remains underutilized in Europe due to logistical inefficiencies. Specifically, the low loading factors of vessels and containers result in the need for more services to transport the same level of cargo, leading to increased costs and travel time, thereby diminishing market competitiveness. The aim of this paper is to develop a spatial-economic assessment of a cargo consolidation strategy for IWT, leveraging a discrete event simulation model that accounts for network characteristics, modal competition with road and rail services, travel time, and costs. It employs an evaluation framework that focuses on cost savings per TEU of different implementation scenarios. A case study on container flows in the Rhine-Alpine Corridor was conducted, evaluating three strategic locations for deploying a container freight station. Compared to the baseline scenario, only one implementation location resulted in positive cost savings, contingent on the annual proportion of less-than-container-load units eligible for consolidation. The study offers insights for infrastructure planning decision-making by identifying a convenient location for the container freight station and determining the necessary conditions of container flows that would enable the policy to be beneficial.