Panama port box volumes up 40%

Panama port box volumes up 40% The Panama Port Authority, which has oversight of operations at the different private-sector container terminals in Panama, said overall container traffic was up 40 percent for the first nine months of 2007.
   Panama's ports handled 2.9 million TEUs from January through September, the port authority said.
   Cristobal was the fastest-growing facility, handling 122,000 TEUs, a gain of 229 percent. The next highest growth rate was at Balboa, which increased 110 percent to 323,000 TEUs.
   The highest-volume terminal was Manzanillo International Terminal, which handled 909,000 TEUs, down 9.3 percent from the prior year. Colon Container Terminal handled 567,000 TEUs, up 37 percent, to rank second in total volume.