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Panama Canal cargo volume falls 4.1% in FY 2013

Panama Canal cargo volume falls 4.1% in FY 2013
As the Panama Canal finalises its fiscal year ended 30 September, cargo volumes transported through the waterway are estimated to fallen by  4.1% to around 320m tonnes. This down from 333.7m tonnes in FY 2012, a record year.

“Mostly the downturn has to do with loss of US grain cargo to Argentina which uses an alternate route,” ACP Administrator Jorge Quijano told Seatrade Global. Income from tolls is estimated to reach $1.85bn, a figure similar to 2012.

Following the recommendation from the ACP Board of Directors, in August 2012 Panama’s Cabinet Council approved a proposal to re-structure the Panama Canal’s pricing system to align canal tolls charges with the value the route provides, by raising tolls effective 1 October 2012 and 1 October 2013 respectively. The re-structure has also increased the number of vessel segments from eight to 10 by Panama Canal vessel type. The new pricing structure raised tolls by an average of 1% to 7% for the affected categories and depending on the vessel type, in October 2012 and then by another 7% in October 2013, which will be reflected in FY2014, starting 1 October 2013. Containers tolls have not increased since January 2011.

The canal authorities faced criticism over the level of tolls earlier this year from Maersk Line, which re-routed its all-water Asia - US East Coast services via the Suez Canal.