Panama Canal queues plummet to 50% of historical average amidst seaborne trade shift

Posted on January 22, 2024   |  

The line of ships at both ends of the Panama Canal is now only half as long as it usually is since it got bigger in 2016. 

Right now, just 45 ships are waiting to go through, which is 50% less than what's usual in the past eight years. 

Last August, when the canal was crowded, more than 160 ships were waiting, which led the shipping industry to start looking for other routes.

For ships waiting to go north today, they have a long wait ahead, non-booked ships going north usually wait around 15.1 days on average. 

In contrast, southbound ships only have to wait around 3.6 days.

To deal with the congestion, the ACP decided to increase the number of ships allowed through each day to 24 this month. 

This change comes after a good amount of rain in the past seven weeks. 

The new plan replaces the earlier announcement of allowing 20 ships in January and 18 in February.