Europe Dodges a Rhine Crisis for the Worst Possible Reason

The Rhine has slightly risen from its mid-August record low (when Kaub’s water level gauge – at the river’s decisive chokepoint – was below 10 cm), but the relief is mostly optical. Barges still cannot carry normal loads through it, leaving the industrial corridor from Rotterdam and Antwerp to southern Germany, eastern France and Switzerland short of transport capacity. The immediate result is expensive freight, constrained chemical production and uneven fuel supply. However, the more troubling conclusion is that Europe…