yphoon Dolphin, the strongest typhoon to hit China so far in 2026, has continued to disrupt transportation and industrial activity after moving inland from the country’s eastern coast. The storm brought severe rainfall and flooding across several provinces, including Hubei, while Shanghai and other eastern areas were also affected. Authorities have reported widespread disruption, including evacuations and interruptions to transport and other critical activities.
The disruption comes against a separate logistics challenge in Europe, where exceptionally low water levels on sections of the Rhine and Danube are restricting inland waterway capacity. Low river levels can prevent cargo vessels from operating at full load, forcing operators to reduce cargo carried per voyage or consider alternative road and rail capacity. On the Rhine, the Kaub gauge fell below the critical 30-centimetre level in late July, while parts of the Danube have also experienced exceptionally low water conditions.
Together, these developments highlight how weather and infrastructure conditions can create capacity constraints across different transport modes and regions. For supply-chain operators, the operational challenge is not limited to a single port or route: disruptions can emerge simultaneously across maritime gateways, inland waterways and overland networks. Monitoring weather conditions, water levels and available transport capacity therefore remains an important part of maintaining resilient freight operations.