Source: IMF PortWatch. Based on AIS data and each observation is averaged over a week.
A look at the weekly-averaged transits at the Suez Canal, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Panama Canal reveals substantial recent fluctuations and disruptions.
- The COVID-19 lockdowns in the first half of 2020 resulted in a drop in transits at the Panama and Suez canals as shipping demand temporarily declined. With the rise in idle capacity, shipping lines opted for slower speeds and longer routes to avoid the Suez Canal tolls, which led to an increase in Cape transits, an event that can be labeled as the Slow Repositioning.
- In March 2021, the Suez Canal Blockage resulted in the temporary shutdown of the canal and a surge in backlogged traffic once it reopened a week later.
- During the post-pandemic surge in international trade, the gap between the transits in the Suez Canal and the Cape of Good Hope substantially widened to the advantage of the Suez Canal. Capacity was tight, which led to the use of the shorter Suez Route.
- In the later part of 2023 and into the first half of 2024, lower rainfall in Panama led to water shortages and a reduction in the capability of the canal to handle its designed number of daily transits.
- The Red Sea crisis, which began in late 2023, led to a significant decline in the number of transits at the Suez Canal (more than 60%) and a corresponding increase in the use of the Cape Route, the Great Rerouting. Since the container shipping industry was in a situation of overcapacity, the event allowed this capacity to be absorbed and shipping rates to be maintained and increased.