Panama Canal Restrictions Are Landing on an Already Broken Chokepoint Map
The Panama Canal Authority will reduce daily transits from 34 to 32 on September 15, after already cutting Neopanamax draft limits, citing below-average rainfall and El Niño forecasts. The restrictions come as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed to commercial traffic and Suez Canal transits remain far below pre-disruption levels, leaving the Cape of Good Hope as the main alternative. A record $5.3 million bid for a Panama slot indicates operators are pricing the scarcity of all three chokepoints.
Why it matters: This matters because it demonstrates how a single chokepoint's scarcity compounds across the global chokepoint map.