THE US$5.25 billion Panama Canal expansion, now to be six months late, has resulted in a shift of traffic to the Suez Canal, which can take big ships that the Panama Canal cannot.
The result is that Panama Canal market share of Asian cargo to the US east coast has dropped from 90 per cent in 2009 to 60 per cent today, reports the British International Freight Association (BIFA) newsletter.
Panama Canal transits have declined from 14,685 in 2011, 14,544 in 2012 to 13,660 transits in 2013. Notably even panamax vessels are being displaced from Panama Canal with Maersk dumping Panama for US east coast services from Asia.
East coast ports have spent billions of dollars to dredge channels deep enough to accommodate the big new ships that will transit the Panama Canal when the new locks open.
Ports and private terminal operators are rushing to expand capacity which will mean that larger ships can be used on transatlantic routes, displacing smaller vessels on these trade routes that will heighten the cascade effect.
WORLD SHIPPING
21 June 2014 - 07:48
Panama's Asia-US east coast cargo share falls from 90 to 60pc: BIFA
THE US$5.25 billion Panama Canal expansion, now to be six months late, has resulted in a shift of traffic to the Suez Canal, which can take big ships that the Panama Canal cannot.
WORLD SHIPPING
21 June 2014 - 07:48
Panama's Asia-US east coast cargo share falls from 90 to 60pc: BIFA
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