To support large infrastructure investments and enhance transit certainty and flexibility, the Panama Canal Authority will implement a new prepaid slot allocation (LoTSA) for Neopanamax vessels starting January 2025, along with an increase in their booking fees.
In response to these additional costs and to continue providing reliable services through the Panama Canal, CMA CGM said it will introduce a Panama Canal Transit surcharge, which will be effective from the beginning of the next year.
This surcharge will apply to all cargo transiting through the Panama Canal on specific trade routes.
For shipments originating from the Caribbean, South America East Coast, North Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, the Red Sea, and the Indian Subcontinent, and destined for the South America West Coast, the surcharge will be US$150 per TEU. The same rate will apply to cargo moving in the reverse direction.
Additionally, a surcharge of US$150 per TEU will be applied to cargo shipped from the Far East to the Caribbean via the Panama Canal.
