Shipping Chokepoints
How the Red Sea attacks and the Panama drought cut traffic through the two canals world trade depends on.
Suez Canal traffic collapse
Decline in Suez Canal activity following the December 2023 Red Sea attacks, % fall.
View data & sources →Panama Canal daily transit limits
Permitted daily vessel transits during the drought-driven restrictions.
View data & sources →Data table
| series | measure | source_ref | pct_decline | value_basis | stage | transits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| suez_decline | Ship transits | unctad-chokepoints | 39 | Ships transiting the Suez Canal fell 39% following the Dec 2023 Red Sea attacks | ||
| suez_decline | Freight tonnage | unctad-chokepoints | 45 | Freight tonnage through Suez fell 45% | ||
| suez_decline | Weekly container transits | unctad-navigating | 67 | Weekly container-ship transits through Suez fell 67% | ||
| suez_decline | Daily transits vs peak (Oct 2024) | imf-red-sea | 57 | October 2024 daily Suez transits 57% below their previous peak, 55% lower than a year earlier | ||
| panama_transits | unctad-chokepoints | Panama Canal normal average of 36 daily transits | Normal capacity | 36 |
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Methodology & sources
Last updated: Aug 14, 2026Methodology
Two simultaneous disruptions with completely different causes, shown separately because they are not comparable. The Suez collapse is a SECURITY event — sustained attacks on shipping from December 2023 made the route unacceptably risky. The Panama restriction is a PHYSICAL one — drought lowered the lake feeding the lock system, so the canal could not supply water for a full transit schedule. The Suez figures are percentage declines against differing baselines (some against the pre-attack level, the October 2024 reading against the previous peak). Each bar’s value_basis states which. They should not be read as a single time series. Panama transit numbers are PERMITTED daily transits set by the Canal Authority, not observed traffic — a capacity ceiling rather than a count. The 18-per-day figure was a planned further reduction. CAVEAT: both situations have since partly eased. Panama transits rose 25% between October 2024 and January 2025 versus the year before. These charts capture the depth of the disruption, not current state. Re-verified 2026-08-10.
Sources
- IMF — Red Sea attacks disrupt global trade ↗ Public report
Comparisons are informative, not definitive. See each source for definitions and limits.