Panama Canal cuts Neopanamax draft to 48.5 feet as carriers add fresh surcharges

Update, 1 October 2026: superseded by later notices

The cut schedule described here changed with later Panama Canal Authority notices (see our 4 September item). On 28 September 2026 the Authority (advisory ADV-36-2026) raised the maximum Neopanamax draft to 14.94 m (49.0 feet), effective immediately and until further notice, and said Neopanamax daily transits rise to 10 from 15 October 2026, for 33 daily slots across the Neopanamax and Panamax locks. It cites near-average rainfall in the watershed and its water-saving measures, while saying a water deficit continues and the booking system remains the only way to guarantee a transit date. We did not re-check the carrier surcharges tied to the lower drafts.

Reduced draft cuts the cargo capacity per Neopanamax transit, and carriers have responded with new per-TEU surcharges rather than absorbing the cost. MSC added a $100/TEU surcharge effective 19 August on cargo from Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan to the US East and Gulf Coasts, covering all cargo types. CMA CGM raised its own Panama Canal surcharge from $40 to $100/TEU on Asia-to-East Coast Central America, North Coast South America, Caribbean and Manaus routes, effective 25 July — both carriers cited operational constraints from the reduced water levels.

For agri-food exporters using Asia-to-US East/Gulf Coast or Asia-to-Latin America lanes that route through Panama, a further scheduled draft cut and carriers already layering on surcharges pointed, at the time, to continued cost and capacity pressure through the El Niño forecast window. The draft has since been raised, but the Authority still reports a water deficit in the watershed, and we have not re-checked whether carriers have withdrawn the surcharges.