Suez Canal revenues increased by a record US$22 million in Q1 of 2015 compared to 2014 and took in a total of around $1.2 billion in revenue for the January to March period, according to Hellenic Shipping News.
PTI reported recently that the Suez Canal had announced a July, 2015 completion deadline for the dredging work that is currently taking place on site.
Although the Suez Canal is expected to bring in around US$13 billion a year in revenue upon completion, there are concerns that the new Kra Canal could cause serious disruptions to the wider logistics chain.
Also, the rumoured Panama Canal re-expansion could be a threat to the Suez Canal as more vessels opt for this route to get to US West Coast Ports.
However, this has recently been countered with the notion that shippers will still use the Suez Canal over Panama due to this providing a faster route, albeit a higher price.
This could be verified by the recent strike-return at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and see more cargo owners using the Suez Canal’s route.
