Panama canal CEO says that canal volumes will not return to pre-crisis peak

The Panama Canal’s container traffic is unlikely to return to 2007’s pre-crisis levels according to Jorge Quijano, CEO of the Panama Canal Authority.

In an interview with the Financial Times, the canal’s top executive cited changing patterns in global trade and manufacturing plus the increasingly austere behaviour of US consumers.

The trend of booming container trade has “peaked”, he said, adding that “reshoring or near-shoring” patterns will see many US companies move production closer to home, contributing to slower growth in global trade.