Panama and Suez Canals Heading In Different Directions

The short term prospects for the world’s two major shipping canals are in stark contrast, as the Panama Canal heads towards normal operations and the Suez Canal is witnessing a dramatic drop in volume.

Delays and congestion have been the order of the day for the Panama Canal, as severe drought conditions have hampered its operations. The number of daily vessel passages has been severely restricted, but the waterway will be returning to almost full operational levels by the middle of next month.

The Panama Canal Authority (PCA) have announced that the maximum daily transits will be rising to 34 from 22nd July. In normal conditions 34-38 vessels pass through its tiered lock system, meaning it will be back to the lower end of that range.

During the height of the crisis, that number fell to just 20 vessel transits per day and ship owners were entering daily auctions to jump the queues, and bidding up to $1 million at a time.

However, while there';s good news for the Panama Canal, its a different story for the Suez Canal, which is being impacted financially by the rerouting of many containerships via Africa due to Houthi attacks.

A mere 44 million tonnes passed through the canal last month, which is a drop of over 68% compared to the 142 million tonnes that transited in the same month last year. As a direct result, revenue for the Egyptian state-owned canal fell to $337 million, a reduction of over 64% compared to the $648 million recorded in May 2024.

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