Structuring and modelling decision making in the inland navigation sector

The inland navigation sector in Western Europe has gone through major changes in the last decade and is to be found high on the European as well as national agendas. Its role is strongly emphasized and stimulated by many governments and authorities in order to decrease a number of negative aspects of goods transportation such as air pollution and congestion. The topic is generally studied from the viewpoint of policy makers, ports and shippers. Nevertheless, one cannot pass by the importance of the supply side of the market, the actors involved and the way they operate. This thesis starts from a business economics perspective in which the operations of inland vessels are studied in detail. The research is based on in-depth interviews with people from the sector and focuses on the traditional inland waterway countries and the Belgian situation in particular. Then a cost simulation model is developed in order to determine the effect of decisions of vessel owners and operators and the influences of exogenous factors on the exploitation results and the competitiveness between companies. This is illustrated by means of a number of case studies. By means of the case studies the effect of decisions concerning investments as well as operations and public policies on the costs and revenues is determined. The main cost items prove to be the capital, the labor and the fuel costs, but also the operations are important. In this respect, the vessel productivity is an major aspect. Any policy influencing on these cost aspects therefore will have a clear effect on the market and companies involved.;KEYWORDS: Inland navigation, supply side, cost simulation, competitiveness.