Slowdown in  container movement hits  Panamanian ports

The movement of TEU containers in the national port system fell 1.3% during the first four months of 2023, compared to last year. External factors, such as the loss of appetite for trade, are affecting activity. Cargo movement in metric tons decreased 2.2%

The Russia-Ukraine war, , inflation, and the loss of value of currencies against the US dollar are external factors that are affecting the movement of containers in the national port system reports La Estrella.

From January to April 2023, the movement of TEU containers in the national port system fell 1.3%, compared to the same period in 2022, according to preliminary indicators from the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP).

During the first quarter of 2023, the total volume of activity reached 2,647,686 TEU containers, compared to 2,681,578 in 2022, which is equivalent to 33,892 fewer movements so far this year.

In Bocas Fruit Co. the movement of containers fell -16.1%; for its part, Colón Container Terminal increased by 7.1%; in Manzanillo International Terminal it fell by 4.5%; in Panama Ports Company – Balboa decreased by 1.2%; in Panama Ports Company – Cristóbal it increased 3.8%, and in PSA Panama International Terminal it fell -5.4 %.

As of April 2021, activity stood at 28.3%.“At a global level there is a marked slowdown in the movement of cargo. Many of us are buying less than last year, which is a representation of the global consumer. If you buy less, the stores that sell buy less; And if they buy less, they order less, and we see fewer containers. That is the variable”, commented the Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Affairs of Manzanillo International Terminal, Juan Carlos Croston. He said that,  in Colombia, citizens are suffering from the devaluation of the Colombian peso against the US dollar. “Colombians are suffering because their local currency reached almost 5,000 pesos to the dollar and that increases their cost of living, Croston said. He highlighted that in Manzanillo, for example, last year they finished 3% below 2021.