Introduction

A Midwest multimodal port operator engaged PraxiChain to determine whether its barge-to-rail capability could compete economically with all-rail transportation for steel coil shipments — and to quantify how much of the surrounding steel market represented a realistic conversion opportunity.

At A Glance

PraxiChain ran a phased market analysis benchmarking barge-to-rail economics against all-rail alternatives for steel coil shipments, validated through direct interviews with logistics and steel industry stakeholders. The result: a confirmed 10% to 30% conversion opportunity, with the port’s barge-to-rail option proving cost-competitive — in a number of lanes, more cost-effective — than moving the same freight entirely by rail.

Requirements

  • Identify steel coil origins and destinations with strong potential for barge-to-rail conversion
  • Benchmark existing all-rail transportation rates and service parameters against a barge-to-rail alternative
  • Validate findings through direct interviews with logistics and steel industry stakeholders, and size the addressable opportunity

The Challenge

The port had significant multimodal assets — direct connections to all four major Class I railroads, plus barge access via the inland waterway system — but that capacity wasn’t yet fully reflected in how the surrounding steel market moved its freight. Leadership needed to know whether promoting a barge-to-rail routing option made economic sense for steel producers and processors who currently shipped by rail or truck alone, and if so, how large that opportunity really was.

PraxiChain Solution

PraxiChain ran a phased market analysis over roughly six weeks. The team began with a baseline assessment of steel coil production and consumption patterns along the waterway system, using public market and rail-traffic data to identify origin-destination pairs with the highest likelihood of conversion. From there, PraxiChain compared the economics of existing all-rail routings against a barge-to-rail alternative routed through the port, lane by lane.

The analysis surfaced a counterintuitive early finding, later confirmed through stakeholder interviews: moving freight the longer physical distance by barge often produced a lower total transportation cost than a shorter all-rail move once rate structures and modal-switching costs were factored in. Certain origins and markets showed a clear, favorable case for conversion, while others — particularly lanes with extensive existing barge coverage — were less likely to shift. PraxiChain then validated these findings directly with logistics and steel industry stakeholders, refining the opportunity into a tighter, credible range.

Results

PraxiChain’s analysis validated a 10% to 30% barge-to-rail conversion opportunity in the addressable steel coil market — with the port’s routing option proving equal to or better than an all-rail move in most of the highest-probability lanes.

The engagement gave port leadership a clear, stakeholder-validated view of where its multimodal advantage was strongest, plus a practical framework for prioritizing outreach to the producers and processors best positioned to benefit from it — turning existing infrastructure the port had already built into a defined, quantified go-to-market opportunity.

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