Commentary: Panama Canal’s regional influence

   Despite Maersk Line’s decision to start rerouting its TP7 service through the Suez instead of the Panama Canal, 13 of the 32 liner services that used the waterway as of last October were Asia-U.S. East Coast strings, according to information presented by Rodolfo Sabonge, executive vice president of planning and business development for the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), at a conference on “Shifting International Trade Routes” in late January.
   During the annual event, which is sponsored by the American Association of Port Authorities and the U.S. Maritime Administration, Sabonge noted 141.9 million tons of cargo or 65 percent of the 218.1 million long tons that transited the canal in fiscal year 2012 had the United States as its origin or destination. About 84.3 million tons of that was cargo moving between the U.S. East Coast and Asia, 27.6 million tons between the U.S. East Coast and South America’s west coast, 9.7 million tons between the U.S. West Coast and Europe, and 12.2 million tons between the U.S. East Coast and Central America’s west coast.
   In all, 10.5 percent of U.S. foreign trade passes through the Panama Canal. But it’s even more vital to the economies of some South American countries, where the comparable percentages are 40.3 percent for Ecuador, 33.5 percent for Chile, and 31.1 percent for Peru. (Chris Dupin)