Panama Canal daily transit limits
Permitted daily vessel transits during the drought-driven restrictions.
About this data
Drought cut Lake Gatún water levels and forced the Panama Canal Authority to reduce daily transits from a normal 36 to 22, with plans to go to 18. Unlike the Suez disruption this was a physical constraint rather than a security one — and it has since eased, with transits up 25% year on year between October 2024 and January 2025.
Panama Canal daily transit limits
Permitted daily vessel transits during the drought-driven restrictions.
Data table
| stage | series | transits | source_ref | value_basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal capacity | panama_transits | 36 | unctad-chokepoints | Panama Canal normal average of 36 daily transits |
| Drought restriction | panama_transits | 22 | unctad-chokepoints | Panama Canal Authority reduced daily transits to 22 during the drought |
| Planned further cut | panama_transits | 18 | unctad-chokepoints | Planned further reduction to 18 transits per day |
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
Comparisons are informative, not definitive. See each source for definitions and limits.