Panama Canal: Less traffic, faster transits

Panama Canal: Less traffic, faster transits    The Panama Canal Authority reported 14,342 waterway transits in its fiscal year ending Sept. 30, down 2.4 percent from the prior year.
   Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tonnage decreased 3.4 percent to 299.1 million PC/UMS tons.
   Container transits experienced a 5.1 percent drop to 3,364 transits, while general cargo traffic jumped 12.3 percent to 875 transits, dry bulk transits increased 11 percent to 2,687 and tanker transits were up 12.3 percent to 2,320.
   With less traffic the authority said “canal waters time,” the average time it takes a vessel to navigate the canal, including waiting time, decreased 26.9 percent to 23.06 hours from 31.55 hours.
   With traffic flowing more quickly, the authority said booked transits, excluding auctioned slots, decreased 28.1 percent to 5,869 transits. The prior year booked vessels accounted for more than 45 percent of oceangoing transits.