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Energy Efficiency
The Energy Foundation
This chart shows that a barge is much more efficient at hauling a ton of cargo than either rail or semi transportation. A barge requires much less fuel for it's transportation in comparison to the other means.
Congressional Budget Office, US congress
Granted, a barge only moves at about 2-4 miles per hour while a train and truck can travel at approximately 45-65 miles an hour, but it would require 15 trains or 60 trucks to carry the same amount that one barge can undertake.
Congressional Budget Office, US congress
Energy efficiency is usually measured in one of two ways: by comparing how many miles each mode of transportation can carry a ton of freight per gallon of fuel, or by how many BTUs are expended per ton mile.
Congressional Budget Office, US congress
-Operating energy is including propulsion energy
-Line haul energy combines operating energy with maintenance energy, vehicle manufacturing energy, and construction energy.
Although traveling upstream is less efficient than using coal trains, when looking at the total for each mode of transportation, barges definitely are more energy efficient on the whole.
Congressional Budget Office, US congress
The Eastman study found: "barge transportation to be the most fuel efficient method of moving the raw materials and semi-finished products needed by the nation's economy." Data for average barge energy intensiveness showed a range of between 270 BTUs and 350 BTUs per ton-mile, well below the range of 650 BTUS to 750 BTUS per ton-mile for rail (Eastman).
In the end, barge transportation is by far the most economically efficient and energy saving way for a merchant of mass products to transport a number of goods north or south of the country.