Panama Canal Announce Results

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced its operational metrics for 2008 fiscal year. Year-end (October 2007 – September 2008) statistics reveal a marginal decline in total transits and tonnage when compared to FY 07. However, the Canal experienced growth in core segments, most notably tanker and passenger transits.
Total Canal transits remained fairly constant, with a slight decline of 0.1 percent – from 14,721 to 14,702 transits. Booked transits (excluding auctioned slots) increased 3.9 percent – from 7,857 to 8,167 transits. Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tonnage decreased 1.1 percent – from 312.9 million PC/UMS tons to 309.6 million PC/UMS tons.
Tanker traffic jumped this year by 4.8 percent – from 1,972 to 2,067 transits, mainly as a result of stronger movements of petroleum from the U.S. Gulf coast to Chile for electricity generation as natural gas supplies coming from Argentina were suspended. Tanker tonnage increased 8.6 percent. The Canal also saw an increase in passenger vessel transits – up 17.6 percent from 205 to 241 transits. Transits by dry bulkers were slightly up from 2,406 to 2,420 transits. While container transits dropped from 3,622 to 3,544 in FY 08.
Booked vessels account for more than 60 percent of ocean going transits, and utilization of the booking system in FY 08 dropped to 92.73 percent from 94.98 percent in FY 07. In response to the customers’ request for additional booking slots, in February the ACP increased number of booking slots available on a daily basis from 25 to 27.