Raw materials are the traditional cargo of inland shipping.  The large carrying capacity of inland vessels ensures that pricing is always competitive.

The consumption of construction material in the Paris agglomeration amounts to 3,000 kg per habitant per year. Inland shipping penetrates right into the heart of the city and helps to address the mobility problem by avoiding 1,200 truck movements a day. The Belgian export of construction aggregate to the North-west of France is expected to increase significantly, since the stone quarries of the French Seine region will likely run out by 2010-2020. In Wallonia, the Lemay stone quarry has multiplied its quantities transported via inland navigation by 5 to reach around 140,000 tonnes in 2004.

Ceres of the agro-group Soufflet is a faithful customer of inland shipping. Ceres supplies 50% of bakeries in Belgium. Barges bring in three quarters of the 600,000 tonnes of wheat annually milled to flour by Ceres. 200,000 tonnes of flour are each year exported by ship.

Agrana Zucker reorganised the supply chain for its sugar factory, located close to the Danube in Austria. In partnership with Stärke AG, operating three sugar factories in Austria, it decided to involve inland shipping after the cost effectiveness of waterway transport on short distances was demonstrated. Initially, 10% of the beet harvest of Upper Austria, or 40,000 tonnes, were shipped from the inland port of Enns to Tulln. This became possible thanks to a dedicated loading ramp, enabling rapid transhipment.

Européenne de Condiments (EDC), a French condiment manufacturer, the second largest mustard manufacturer in Europe, requires some 8,000 to 10,000 tonnes of mustard grains a year for its production of mustard. These are imported from Canada to arrive by seagoing ship in the port in Ghent. A transport chain of 8 small freycinet barges ensures the transport of 2,000 tonnes to Dijon in 17 days.  This revival of the Canal de Bourgogne is important for the region as it has led to the creation of local jobs through a partnership with Dijon Céréales. Not to forget the societal benefit of 300-400 truck movements less a year on the roads, as one 240 tonne vessel replaces 10 trucks.