From bananas to LNG, Panama Canal backlog has wide-reaching implications
This article is a summary of reporting by Al Jazeera. Originally published September 1, 2023.
By late August 2023, around 135 vessels were queued outside the Panama Canal due to draft limits and reduced daily crossing numbers, representing a 50 percent increase over normal waiting levels. The bottleneck impacted a broad spectrum of trade, delaying perishable food items such as fruit as well as vital energy commodities like liquefied natural gas. Some operators waited for weeks or resorted to multi-million dollar auction bids to secure rare unreserved transit passages. The disruption added new friction and higher costs to international commerce already struggling with supply chain volatility.
AI Summary
A growing queue of over 130 vessels at the Panama Canal caused far-reaching disruptions to shipments of food, commodities, and fuel.
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