You usually receive Latin America Weekly on Wednesdays — but we decided to send out this special edition providing an overview of the Panama Canal’s struggles during the pandemic.
Panama Canal’s pandemic struggles
With the travel restrictions and forced insularity brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, global trade flows have been drastically altered, with experts suggesting some of the changes may become permanent. For Panama, home to one of the world’s most important trade routes, the changing scenario could force a complete rethink of the country’s economy.
Why it matters. Pivotal to the country’s economy, roughly 3 percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal.
- The canal is also a major logistics hub for the U.S., working as the main trade route between its west and east coasts.
Covid. Data from the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) shows that traffic fell 3 percent in the 2020 fiscal year to 13,369 vessels.
- Still, tonnage reached 475.2 million PC/UMS tons, 1.2-percent more than the previous year. As a result, toll revenue went up 2.7 percent to USD 2.6 billion, largely thanks to strong performance in the first three months of 2020.
- In a recent report, Fitch highlighted that “despite the...