Panama Canal losing out to Suez
The Panama Canal Authority expects the volume of goods moving through the canal to fall 2.4 percent this fiscal year as shipping firms switch their routes to use the Suez Canal, Reuters reports.
Jorge Quijano, the head of the authority, said the drop in traffic will reduce revenue from the canal by about $40 million a year.
"It's something we knew was going to happen," he said.
Container lines APL, Maersk Line, CMA-CGM, and MSC have all recently announced a switch of at least some Asia-US routes to the Suez.
"At current rates, the Panama Canal transit is non-remunerative," said Kenneth O'Brien, senior vice president for trans-Pacific trade at APL.
Read in full: http://shipandbunker.com/news/am/856580-migration-of-asia-us-traffic-hurts-panama-canal