Container traffic in Panama increases by 3.6% in 2025, dominated by transshipment

Strategic crossroads between the Atlantic and the Pacific, Panama confirms its place in transshipment circuits. In 2025, container traffic at Panamanian ports reached 9.9 million TEUs, a growth of 3.6% compared to 2024. The engine remains transshipment, which accounts for 8.84 million TEU (about 89% of the total), while local cargo slightly exceeds 1 million TEU, up 2.3%.

Behind the overall figure, the dynamics vary greatly depending on the terminals. Colon Container Terminal (Evergreen) shows the best progress with +10.2% and 1.73 million TEU. The SSA Marine MIT group takes the lead in volumes with 2.85 million TEU, up 5.6%. On the Panama Ports Co (Hutchison) side, Balboa climbs to 2.67 million TEU (+1.8%), while Cristobal accelerates sharply to 1.21 million TEU (+9.4%). On the side of Panama Ports Co (Hutchison), Balboa climbs to 2.67 million TEU (+1.8%), while Cristobal strongly accelerates to 1.21 million TEU (+9.4%).

Not everything is linear: PSA Panama International declines slightly (-2.1%), and Bocas Fruit Co experiences a marked drop, linked to the temporary halt in banana exports following Chiquita’s suspension of activity for several months. For the region, the message is twofold: transshipment hubs remain robust, but “cargo” flows linked to export sectors can create abrupt variations when production stalls.

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