For the Panama Canal, the fiscal year 2011 was a record year. We registered a volume of 322.1 million Panama Canal ton). This figure represents a 7.1 percent increase compared to last year’s figure and also surpasses the previous 2007 record by 2.9 percent. This result reflected the recovery in trade volume after the recession years.
We foresee a 2012 bringing many challenges to the weak economic growth. The financial crisis in Europe, the sluggish growth in the United States and the struggling economy of Japan are still weakening the global economic recovery.
Nevertheless, the developing world is showing resilience to the sluggish recovery in the developed countries. We see growth in areas that could yield a number of trends to watch in the coming year.
In shipping, we see a lot of challenges coming from newbuilding orders of bigger and larger vessels, which increase fleet capacity and exert a downward pressure on freight rates and charter rates. This additional capacity will keep slow steaming strategies in place and create a cascade effect in term of vessel deployment.
The Panama Canal Expansion project continues to progress as planned. Expansion will build a new lane of traffic along the Panama which will double capacity and allow more traffic and longer, wider ships. And many U.S. ports are getting ready to receive future trade volumes.
Taking into account the volatility of market conditions and the challenges that the global economy is facing in 2012, it is crucial that every link in the supply chain contributes to support the ever-changing needs of the industry.