Panama Canal sees throughput rise 7pc to 322.1 million tons in F2011

THE Panama Canal attracted a record 322.1 million Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System tons of cargo in fiscal 2011 that ended on September 30, representing a year on year increase of 7.1 per cent, according to preliminary figures from the Panama Canal Authority.

A PC/UMS ton is equal to 100 cubic feet of the vessel`s water displacement.


A report by the Journal of Commerce said the opening of the expanded canal in 2014 will raise the waterway`s capacity to more than 600 million PC/UMS tons.