U.S. exports slow as Panama Canal dries up

Low water levels in the Panama Canal are not disrupting Canadian grain shipments, but they are causing turmoil for exporters in the United States.

Transit capacity in the canal has been reduced to 24 ships per day through the end of November, according to a news release from the Panama Canal Authority (PAC).

That compares to 36 to 38 ships per day under normal conditions.

Capacity is scheduled to continue falling to 18 ships per day by Feb. 1.

The reduced capacity is the direct result of a severe drought caused by El Nino, which seriously delayed the onset of the rainy season that usually runs from May through November.

The weather phenomenon has produced the driest October in the canal’s reservoir system in 73 years.

There was 41 percent less rainfall than usual that month, lowering the Gatun Lake reservoir to unprecedented levels.

The reservoir has been receiving daily inflow from rainfall and river flow amounting to seven cubic hectometers per day, which is well below the average of 15, according to PAC.