Figure I've got (from Bill McKibben's Eaarth IIRC) is that lorries average 59 ton-miles/gallon, whilst barges on canals net 514 ton-miles/gallon. (McKibben doe

Figure I've got (from Bill McKibben's Eaarth IIRC) is that lorries average 59 ton-miles/gallon, whilst barges on canals net 514 ton-miles/gallon. (McKibben doesn't include rail, which is slightly less efficient though you can think of rail as effectively steel barges.) I suspect the reason lorries are rating lower is that they're not typically filled to maximum weight capacity, and likely have greater idling losses. Though a more recent (2017) source gives a better showing for overland transport: The study shows that barges can move a ton of cargo 647 miles with a single gallon of fuel, an increase from an earlier estimate of 616 miles. In contrast, trains can move the same ton of cargo 477 miles per gallon, and trucks can move the same ton of cargo 145 miles per gallon. <https://maritime-executive.com/article/barge-transport-wins-on-fuel-efficiency https://maritime-executive.com/article/barge-transport-wins-...> The study being "A report commissioned by the U.S. National Waterways Foundation". "A Modal Comparison of Domestic Freight Transportation Effects On the General Public: 2001–2014" <https://nationalwaterwaysfoundation.org/file/31/final%20tti%20report%202001-2014%20approved.pdf https://nationalwaterwaysfoundation.org/file/31/final%20tti%...> (PDF) Upshot regardless is that water transport is efficient, if not always convenient.