Panama Canal Enjoys Quarterly Traffic Boost

June 8, 2006
For the fiscal quarter January through March 2006 there was an increase in net tonnage, total transits of the waterway and transits of Panamax ships.

For the fiscal quarter – January through March 2006 – there was an increase in net tonnage, total transits of the waterway and transits of Panamax ships.

Using the Panama Canal/Universal Measurement system (PC/UMS), tonnage increased by 5.7% year over year, from 70.9 million to 75.0 million PC/UMS. Accompanying the tonnage boost, the Canal’s traffic grew by 3.5% to 3,862 transits compared to last year’s 3,730. Panamax ship transits -- those of 100 feet or more in beam -- the largest that can pass through the Canal, increased from 1,396 to 1,501, a jump of 7.5%.


The average time it takes for a vessel to make the transit, Canal Waters Time (CWT) increased during the quarter. The Canal Authority attributes the increase of 15.8% in CWT to three factors: World trade is booming; grain exports from U.S. Gulf ports to Asia have grown as infrastructure in the New Orleans area have begun recovery; and there was a traffic surge during the waterway’s peak season that created an unusually high backlog.