Daily vessel transits through the Panama Canal will remain below full capacity next year due to tariff-driven frontloading of US imports and weaker demand on the East and Gulf coasts, reports New York's Journal of Commerce.

The canal can handle 36 daily transits, but the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) projects an average of only 33 in 2026, still below pre-drought levels. ACP Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez Morales said the rush to import ahead of tariffs was "bread for today and hunger for tomorrow."

In August, the canal averaged 32.5 daily transits, up from 30.9 in 2024. It last operated at full capacity in 2022. Drought conditions in 2023 and 2024 forced ACP to restrict passages, with a low of 25 daily transits in November 2023.

Containerships made up 24 per cent of canal transits in the first eight months of 2025 but contributed 45 per cent of revenue. The ACP's 2026 budget, approved in August, forecasts a 400-million-ton drop in transits compared to 2025.

Morales said canal revenue accounts for 20 to 25 per cent of Panama's government income and cautioned against unrealistic expectations. He also highlighted a US$1.6 billion investment in the Rio Indio Lake project, aimed at improving water supply through river damming, with construction set to begin in 2027.

The canal is now better equipped to manage low water levels and future El Nino events, Morales said, noting the increasing frequency of such climate phenomena.