In Europe, container on barge (COB) has become a vital part of the logistics industry, offering shippers a lower-emission, lower-cost option that eases pressure on highways and rail networks. In the U.S., however, that potential remains largely untapped. The United States boasts an extensive inland waterway system, exceeding 12,000 miles and serving vital industrial regions. Yet, despite this comprehensive network, container-on-barge (COB) has struggled to expand beyond a few pilot projects and specialized routes.
The U.S. possesses an extensive inland waterway system, stretching over 12,000 miles and extending into vital industrial regions. However, despite this vast network, container-on-barge (COB) operations have yet to achieve widespread adoption, remaining largely confined to a few pilot programs and specialized routes.
Yet one U.S. port stands as a striking exception: The Port of New Orleans.
In 2023, the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) set a national record, moving over 20,500 containers by barge, solidifying its position as the largest container on barge network in the U.S. This service, linking New Orleans with Baton Rouge, Memphis, and St. Louis has become a model of what COB can look like when infrastructure, operators, and policy start to align. But the story of Port NOLA’s success also underscores the deeper reasons why COB has not experienced widespread adoption elsewhere domestically, namely infrastructure shortcomings, economic misalignments, and policy inertia.
Infrastructure Reality Check
The reality is that most U.S. inland ports were never designed for containerized cargo. While European inland terminals have benefited from decades of investment in container cranes, rail integration, and staging areas, many U.S. counterparts are still equipped primarily for bulk commodities. The lack of standardized container-handling equipment means COB operators face inefficient load times and higher handling costs, compounded by unpredictable infrastructure reliability.
A solid example is the U.S.’s aging lock and dam system. According to the ASCE’s 2025 Infrastructure Report Card, over 80% of U.S. inland waterway locks have exceeded their 50-year design life. Operators navigating the Mississippi or Ohio Rivers often face unscheduled closures and delays that make consistent COB service a gamble. In contrast, European countries have invested steadily in lock modernization and maintenance, treating their inland waterways as a strategic asset.
Even in places like Memphis, where momentum is building via a new container terminal under development, or St. Louis, which is advancing its own COB project, progress is slow and dependent on patchwork funding. With over 50% of U.S. crops and livestock produced within a 500-mile radius of the St. Louis region, including approximately 80% of corn and soybean acreage, and Memphis moving much of the nation’s steel, coal, fertilizers, and grains, these ports are indispensable and offer real potential for COB adoption. But without federal coordination and investment, they remain exceptions rather than signs of a system turning a corner.
The Numbers Don’t Add Up
Beyond the physical infrastructure, the economics of COB in the U.S. remain precarious. Setting up a COB operation isn’t just about having barges; it requires cranes, secure container yards, trained labor, and purpose-built docks. These upfront investments are substantial, often reaching tens of millions of dollars, and the return depends heavily on consistent container volumes that few inland ports currently see.
Estimates suggest that a minimum of 50,000 TEUs per year is necessary to break even on a COB corridor. Even Port NOLA, the country’s leader, hasn’t quite reached that threshold. In most other regions, volumes remain too low to justify investment. This leads to a catch-22: operators won’t build without volume, and shippers won’t commit without infrastructure.
Further complicating the financial picture is the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT). Originally intended to fund maintenance of coastal ports, this 0.125% ad valorem fee is also levied on containers moved via inland waterways, even when those shipments never pass through a deepwater port. This tax places water-based transport at a significant disadvantage relative to truck and rail, which pay no comparable surcharge.
The result is a system where, route-by-route, COB is often less economically competitive, even when it could be more sustainable or efficient in the long run.
Policy and Regulatory Headwinds
Perhaps the most frustrating challenge is that many of these issues are solvable if there were a coordinated strategy to address them. As we have seen when looking at inland marine transportation overseas, Europe’s COB growth has been driven not just by private-sector innovation but by public-sector leadership. Governments there have developed long-term multimodal plans, streamlined permitting for inland terminals, and provided funding for COB infrastructure upgrades.
In the U.S., policy remains fragmented. The Inland Waterways Trust Fund supports lock and dam maintenance but does not cover dredging or terminal improvements. Environmental permitting for inland port upgrades can stretch out for years, creating major barriers to expansion. And there’s no national COB strategy guiding federal investment or fostering regional collaboration. The result? Even well-intentioned efforts often get bogged down in red tape or stalled in funding limbo.
So, What Will It Take?
The ingredients for COB success in the U.S. already exist, to an extent. The inland waterway network is extensive. The environmental and congestion-reduction benefits are clear. And the proof of concept has been delivered by Port NOLA and Ingram Marine Group, who’ve shown that containerized freight can move reliably and competitively by barge, provided they have the right foundation. To scale that success, a few things are needed.
First, targeted federal investment in key inland terminals, particularly in emerging hubs like Memphis and St. Louis, could close the infrastructure gap. Second, policy reform is essential. Exempting COB from the Harbor Maintenance Tax and streamlining permitting would level the playing field. Third, while infrastructure catches up, digital solutions like those offered by OpenTug can reduce friction in our currently fragmented system by enabling real-time tracking, booking, routing, and cargo matching for COB shipments.
Container on barge doesn’t need to remain a niche service in the U.S. With the right alignment of public and private support, it could become a core element of a greener, more resilient freight network. If we could shift our view of America’s waterways as relics of the past, we may be able to realize their potential as integral parts of the supply chain future.
Ready to see how OpenTug can help you unlock the full potential of barge transport? Request a demo today.
.png)
