April 23, 2024

According to those who administer the Panama Canal, they are expecting a lot of rain and increased traffic along the route in the coming year. This announcement just before the heavy trade season.

“By the end of April, rain is going to begin and we’re going to have a lot,” Argelis Moreno Lopez said earlier this month at a conference at the University of Houston. “That will reverse the situation and go back to normal at the end of the year or next year.”

The Canal currently has restrictions in place which has slowed global trade.

The announcement is not a surprise as the localized climate issue has ended. As such it has not stopped global trade routes across land via train from getting a lot of investment.

Mexico continues to invest in the cross continent rail route revitalization.

In Asia, the Trans Siberia rail routes continue to be updated. Completion of the electrification of the major routes has happened and the investment in increasing speed of the corridors is underway.

India meanwhile is investing in Chabahar, the only Iranian port with direct access to the Indian Ocean, after getting a waiver from US sanctions.

The Russian-backed rail connection via Iran opens the way to central Asia — including crucially Afghanistan — and “offers a shorter route to Europe,” said Vaishali Basu Sharma, a former consultant at India’s National Security Council Secretariat.

“Emerging markets are finally breaking free from the hegemony created by developed countries,” she said. (BN)