The Panama Canal Throttle
Daily transits through the Panama Canal since 2019. The canal's locks run on fresh water from Gatún Lake, so the severe 2023-24 drought forced the canal authority to ration daily slots and transits fell by roughly a third before rains restored capacity. It is the clearest example in the dashboard of a climate constraint binding directly on trade infrastructure — and of how quickly traffic returns when the constraint lifts.
What does it show?
The Panama Canal runs on rainwater: the 2023-24 drought forced authorities to ration daily slots, and transits fell by roughly a third before Gatún Lake recovered. A climate constraint on trade infrastructure, visible ship by ship.
Methodology
Daily ship transits through the Panama Canal from IMF PortWatch (UN Global Platform AIS data), as a 7-day trailing average across all vessel types. Transit slots are set by the Panama Canal Authority based on water levels in Gatún Lake, so the series reflects administrative rationing as much as demand.