[Freight Weekly] Panama Canal to return to near normal in Sept

✅Panama Canal Authority announced that it intends to boost daily transit slots for September 2024 as heavy rainfalls come early before peak season✅

ACP, the acronym for the Panama Canal Authority in Spanish, announced that it will boost daily transit slots from 34 to 36 by the time September hits. More here:

• The ACP’s deputy administrator Ilya Espino told Reuters, published by GCaptain, “We have 34 transits (per day) and on August 5 we will increase to 35 transits and…in September we’ll be able to increase to 36.”

• The arrival of the rainy season in recent weeks has allowed authorities to increase transit slots, further flowing cargo ships through the canal.

  Panama, as a country, experienced its third-driest year on record in 2023.

• Due to that dry season, which is overwhelmingly tied to climate change, the Panama Canal Authority had to limit transits and begin expanding the construction of a brand new reservoir to feed water into the canal.

• The plan for the new reservoir, which would feed the canal with enough water for operations, is expected to take six years and cost $1.6 billion.

• 36 transits a day in September coincides with peak shipping seasons.

Bottom line: Shippers, carriers should remain optimistic that the Panama Canal will continue to serve as the primary heart of trade in the Western Hemisphere.

CONTEXT: Panama Canal Continues Progress Toward Normal Operations

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