YEARBOOK: INLAND WATERWAYS

摘要

The shakeout from lower oil prices that began last year gathered steam in the first quarter, as barge operators who rushed to fill earlier demand from the increase in U.S. hydraulic fracturing output scaled back their expectations for the rest of the year. Coal carriers saw domestic demand continue to fall, as tracked natural gas continues to make inroads in new power generation and older coal-fired plants have trouble competing. Last year was "the likely peak" for domestic crude oil movements by barge, driven by the need of oil companies to move crude from the Dakota Bakken fields and to a lesser extent from Canada, said Brent Dibner, president of Dibner Maritime Associates in Chestnut Hill, Mass. But the growth of pipeline networks, driven by expanding production, "are ultimately easing a very tight situation" for the producers.