Due to low water levels, ships are backed up and waiting to move through the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal Authority is responding by offering an additional slot with it going for the highest bid. The vessels waiting ten days, and more are eligible to participate in this auction. By February, the PCA plans to reduce the number of daily transits through the Panama Canal from 32 per day to only 18 per day. HJ O’Neil Consulting is reporting these auction slots can sell for $2-to-$4 million. For a ship hauling grain that wins an auction slot for $2 million, the freight costs from the U.S. Gulf-to-China will increase by 50 percent.
News Categories
Latest RRFN Podcasts
Subscribe to RRFN
Get a weekly digest from RRFN to stay up-to-date on all the latest news in agriculture.