Why is a towboat called a towboat when it pushes the barges? The word "tow" comes from the canal age when a draft animal walking along the bank of the canal pulled a barge. As rivermen gained experience with moving barges, they found that, by lashing barges together and pushing them, they could control the barges better and move more of them. The control was especially helpful when navigating the smaller rivers and tight bends in a river.
How many barges and towboats are there? There are approximately 26,000 dry cargo barges, 3,000 tanker barges, and 1,200 towboats operating today.
How many barges are there in a tow? The average tow has 15 barges, but flotillas can go up to 40 barges, depending on the type of cargo, the river segments being navigated, and the size of the towboat.
What are the types of barges? Inland Liquid Cargo Tank Barge Open Dry Cargo Barge Covered Dry Cargo Barge Coastal Ocean Going Tank Barge
The Inland Waterways Transportation Industry The solution for relieving congestion on our nation s highways and railways The cleanest, safest, most fuel efficient and most economical mode of freight transportation
The Inland Waterways Transportation Industry is an integral part of our nation s economy, moving raw materials and cargo to our cities, industries and regions of agricultural production Key Commodities Moving on the Inland Waterways* Metals & Ores 5% Other 4% Minerals & Stone 19% Grain & Agricultural Products 13% Chemicals & Petroleum 29% Coal 32% 566.9 Million Tons Annually Source: March 2010 Informa Economics Barge Commodity Profile
Inland Waterways System The U.S. Inland Waterways - nearly 12,000 Miles of waterways and 240 Lock Sites Connecting 38 States Over 90 Million People Live within 100 Miles of the Mississippi River, Ohio River, and Gulf Intracoastal Waterways.
Each Year, 624 Million Tons of Cargo Are Transported on the Inland Waterways. Industry Traffic Flows Dry Cargo Liquid Cargo Coal Chemicals Grain - Styrene Steel Products Petroleum Products Bulk Ores - Lube Oil Cement - Gasoline Coal & Sand Road Salt - Diesel and Jet Fuels Fertilizer Agricultural Products Steel & Scrap Alumina - Ethanol Imports Project Cargoes - Soybean Oil Intermodal Containers - Liquid Fertilizers Coal
One Barge Tow Carries the Loads of Hundreds of Railcars or over a Thousand Trucks.
Barges Are the Most Efficient Mode of Transportation. Barge transportation is the most energy-efficient choice. Barges can move one ton of cargo 576 miles per gallon of fuel that s 163 miles further than railcars and 421 miles further than trucks. 155 413 576 Ton-miles Traveled per Gallon of Fuel Source: Texas Transportation Institute 2008 National Waterways Foundation
Barges Are the Cleanest Mode of Transportation. Barge transportation generates fewer emissions than railroads or trucks per ton-mile in the four standards tracked by the EPA: Particulate matter (PM) Hydrocarbons (HC) Carbon monoxide (CO) Nitrogen oxides (NOx) PM 0.011164 HC 0.01737 CO 0.04621 NOx 0.46907 PM 0.01621 HC 0.02423 CO 0.06445 NOx 0.65423 PM 0.018 HC 0.020 CO 0.136 NOx 0.732 Grams per Ton-miles Source: Texas Transportation Institute 2008 National Waterways Foundation
Barges Are the Safest Mode of Transportation. Barge transportation has significantly fewer fatalities, injuries and spills than railroads or trucks. Fatalities 1 22.7 155 Injuries 1 125 2,171 Spills of More Than 1000 Gallons 3.60 3.86 6.06 Source: Texas Transportation Institute 2008 National Waterways Foundation
Inland Waterways Are the Transportation Solution of the Future. Barges on the inland waterways carry the equivalent of 58 million truck trips per year with capacity to spare The U.S. inland waterways system is estimated to have 60 percent available capacity If waterborne cargo was diverted to the highways or the railroads, Truck traffic would double on the interstates Railroad tonnage would increase 25 percent Source: Texas Transportation Institute 2008 National Waterways Foundation