This waterway was dubbed as Sweden's Blue Ribbon (Swedish: Sveriges Blå Band).

[3] Contrary to the popular belief, it is not correct to consider this waterway as a part of the greater Göta Canal.

However the statistics show that from the beginning of the 21st century the cargo traffic through the canal is in steady decline: in 2015 the volume of freight transferred through the canal amounted to 1.5 million tonnes while in 1990 it was as large as 3.5 million tonnes.

One of them is competition from road and rail transportation, but another is due to the constraints of the current infrastructure of the canal.

[8][9] In this regard the Swedish transport authorities are planning in 2025-2026 to proceed with the renovation of the canal infrastructure which is to be finished in 2030-2032.