Transport system · Logistics
Logistics and supply chains
Logistics is the organised movement of goods from where they are made to where they are needed. Germany's export industry depends on it. Steffen Bilger has held formal responsibility for the subject twice: as the Federal Government's Coordinator for Freight Transport and Logistics from 2018, and as Federal Minister for Transport since July 2026.
Section 01 — the system
The freight system in brief
In 2024, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), about 4.24 billion tonnes of goods were moved in Germany. Lorries carried most of them: 3.34 billion tonnes. Rail carried 362 million tonnes, sea shipping 270 million, inland waterway vessels 174 million, pipelines 84 million and aircraft about 5 million.
Each mode does a different job. Lorries reach every factory gate and shop, and dominate short and medium distances. Rail is strongest for heavy, regular flows over long distances, such as steel, chemicals, containers from the seaports and cars from assembly plants. Inland shipping on the Rhine, the Danube, the Elbe and the canal network moves bulk goods like ore, coal, building materials and mineral-oil products cheaply. It depends heavily on water levels. The seaports link Germany to world trade, and ports, rail terminals and logistics hubs are where cargo switches between modes.
Logistics is more than transport. It includes warehousing, handling, customs, scheduling and, increasingly, data. Much of this is private business. The federal government's role is to provide and finance infrastructure (Autobahns, the federal rail network, about 7,300 kilometres of federal inland waterways), set the legal framework and fund programmes that steer the market, such as support for rail freight or cleaner vessels. Detailed freight statistics are on the freight transport sheet. The economic side is covered on transport and the economy.
Diagram
How a supply chain moves
A simplified chain from producer to consumer. The middle stage is where transport policy matters most: which mode carries the long-distance leg, and what happens when one of them fails.
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Factory
Production, often itself fed by suppliers' deliveries timed to the hour.
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Hub
Terminal, port or logistics centre: consolidation and transfer between modes.
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Rail
Heavy, regular, long-distance flows
Road
Flexible, door to door, about 70% of tonne-kilometres
Water
Bulk cargo, cheap per tonne, sensitive to low water
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Distribution
Regional warehouses and delivery runs, almost always by lorry or van.
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Consumer
A shop, a building site, another factory or a household.
When one long-distance lane is blocked, as on the Rhine at low water, cargo has to switch to the others. That only works if they have spare capacity and the rules allow it. That was the logic of the federal–state measures in August 2026.
Section 03 — documented role
Logistics coordinator, 2018–2021
In April 2018 the cabinet confirmed Bilger, then newly appointed Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, as the Federal Government Coordinator for Freight Transport and Logistics.
According to VerkehrsRundschau, his aims were to modernise the industry's framework conditions and, with the industry, draw up an "Innovationsprogramm Logistik 2030" with digitalisation as a key element. Minister Andreas Scheuer presented the programme in Berlin on 4 September 2019. It set out ten fields of action, from digital infrastructure and climate-friendly logistics to rail, ports and the last mile. At the time Bilger said he would set up a commission under his leadership to develop it further with experts from business.
The commission was appointed in January 2020 with 16 members from logistics companies, research and the Länder, and Bilger as chair. Its first meeting was scheduled for 24 March 2020. The sources consulted do not show what it produced afterwards, so no results are claimed here. In his declared outside functions for the 19th Bundestag, Bilger also listed a seat on the advisory board of the Bundesvereinigung Logistik, the logistics industry association, until December 2019.
Ich freue mich auf die neue Aufgabe und bin ab sofort erster Ansprechpartner der Bundesregierung für alle Fragen rund um die Logistik.
“I look forward to the new task and am, as of now, the Federal Government's first point of contact for all questions concerning logistics.” (translation)
Steffen Bilger, 11 April 2018 — VerkehrsRundschau
Ich werde mich auch dafür einsetzen, die Emissionen im Güterverkehr weiter zu reduzieren und Maßnahmen zur Verlagerung von Transporten auf Schiene und Wasserstraße zu unterstützen.
“I will also work to further reduce emissions in freight transport and to support measures to shift transport to rail and waterways.” (translation)
Steffen Bilger, 11 April 2018 — VerkehrsRundschau
Die deutsche Transportwirtschaft boomt. Damit das so bleibt, haben wir im vergangenen Jahr unser Innovationsprogramm Logistik 2030 gestartet.
“The German transport industry is booming. To keep it that way, last year we launched our Innovation Programme Logistics 2030.” (translation)
Steffen Bilger, January 2020 — Logistik Heute
Documented: ministerial response
Low water on the Rhine, 2026
Two weeks into his term, low water on the Rhine and the Danube became Bilger's first supply-chain emergency. On 12 August 2026 the federal government and the Länder announced further joint measures.
The press release names the stretches most affected: the Middle Rhine between Mainz and St. Goar, the Lower Rhine between Stürzelberg and Duisburg, and the Danube. Bavaria's transport minister Christian Bernreiter, chair of the Conference of Transport Ministers, took part on the Länder side. Measures already in place included:
- exceptions to the Sunday and holiday driving ban for lorries;
- additional rail capacity on lines running parallel to the Rhine;
- more flexible rules for transferring cargo between modes, extended to 30 September 2026;
- coordination of Autobahn roadworks; the Dortmund-Ems Canal and the West German canal network as an alternative route for traffic between the Rhine delta ports and inland Germany.
The release also refers to a low-water information system (NIWIS) launched in July 2026 and to €750 million for upgrading the Danube and flood protection.
Aber Resilienz entsteht nicht über Nacht. Deshalb müssen wir weiter in unsere Wasserstraße investieren und die Infrastruktur konsequent an die Herausforderungen des Klimawandels anpassen.
“But resilience doesn't happen overnight. That is why we must keep investing in our waterways and consistently adapt the infrastructure to the challenges of climate change.” (translation)
Steffen Bilger, BMV press release 075/2026, 12 August 2026
Wir haben seit 2018 wichtige Lehren gezogen und viel umgesetzt.
("We have learned important lessons since 2018 and implemented a lot", translation). The reference is to the severe Rhine low water of 2018, which disrupted industrial supply along the river.
Documented: funding decisions
Waterways and rail freight
Bilger's first weeks in office produced a run of funding announcements for the non-road modes. They are listed here as announcements: money made available or construction started, not finished results.
| Date | Measure | Amount | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Aug | Kachlet double lock, Passau (PM 072) | €380 m | Ground-breaking for the overhaul of a Danube lock built 1922–27, 226.5 m long, on the Main–Danube route. The Danube stays navigable during works. |
| 10 Aug | Green inland shipping corridors (PM 074) | €70 m | Grants for low- and zero-emission vessel retrofits and for port charging and refuelling (hydrogen, ammonia, methanol). |
| 21 Aug | Zero-emission inland vessels (PM 078) | up to €14 m | Second funding line, aimed at shifting regional passenger and goods traffic onto the water. |
| 28 Aug | Single-wagon rail freight (PM 079) | +€84 m | Brings 2026 support to up to €384 m for a segment the ministry puts at about 18% of rail freight, serving over 2,000 loading points. |
| 4 Sep | Digital automatic coupling pioneer trains (PM 082) | ~€36 m | Testing digital automatic coupling (DAK) in real operation, administered by the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility (BALM). |
Die Binnenschifffahrt ist ein leistungsfähiger und klimafreundlicher Verkehrsträger mit großem Zukunftspotenzial.
“Inland shipping is an efficient and climate-friendly mode of transport with great future potential.” (translation)
Steffen Bilger, BMV press release 074/2026, 10 August 2026
Die Förderung des Einzelwagenverkehrs ist eine wichtige Säule für einen wettbewerbsfähigen Schienengüterverkehr in unserem Land.
“Support for single-wagon traffic is an important pillar of competitive rail freight in our country.” (translation)
Steffen Bilger, BMV press release 079/2026, 28 August 2026
Single-wagon traffic (Einzelwagenverkehr) means individual wagons or small groups collected from many sidings, sorted in marshalling yards and assembled into trains. It is costly to run but essential for steel, chemicals and the car industry. The freight transport sheet explains the cuts to track-access subsidies that rail associations criticised at the same time.
Section 06 — assessment
Continuity, and the limits of the record
Bilger's interest in logistics is well documented. He took on the coordinator role in 2018 with an explicit promise to shift freight to rail and water. As minister he has used his first months to put money into waterways, locks and rail freight, and has framed low-water resilience as long-term infrastructure work. His August 2026 statement about adapting the waterways to climate change is notable in the light of the Greens' demand that he acknowledge low water as a climate consequence (see sustainable transport).
The limits are just as clear. Several announcements continue existing programmes: the single-wagon money tops up support already budgeted for 2026, and the DAK programme builds on the completed DAC4 research project. The 2027 draft budget, presented under his name, cuts the rail-freight track-access subsidy from €265 million to about €200 million, which rail associations have criticised. And road's share of freight has barely moved: by our calculation from Destatis figures, it was about 71% of tonne-kilometres in both 2023 and 2024. Whether his tenure changes the modal balance cannot be judged after ten weeks. His earlier period as Parliamentary State Secretary is covered on its own sheet.
Sources
- Destatis — Güterbeförderung nach Verkehrsträgern (2023–2024)
- GDWS — Federal waterways
- VerkehrsRundschau — What the new state secretaries in the transport ministry do (11 Apr 2018)
- VerkehrsRundschau — Scheuer presents Innovationsprogramm Logistik 2030 (4 Sep 2019)
- Logistik Heute — BMVI appoints the innovation commission (29 Jan 2020)
- Deutscher Bundestag — Biography, 19th electoral term (declared functions)
- BMV — BMV aktuell (news listing)
- BMV — Press release 075/2026: low water (12 Aug 2026)
- BMV — Press release 072/2026: Kachlet double lock (3 Aug 2026)
- BMV — Press release 074/2026: green inland shipping corridors (10 Aug 2026)
- BMV — Press release 078/2026: zero-emission inland vessels (21 Aug 2026)
- BMV — Press release 079/2026: single-wagon traffic (28 Aug 2026)
- BMV — Press release 082/2026: DAK pioneer trains (4 Sep 2026)
- Deutscher Bundestag, hib — 2027 transport budget draft (19 Aug 2026)
- Handelsblatt — Greens: new transport minister must do more for the climate (8 Aug 2026)