# Panama Canal transit auction fees rise to US$4 million

> Priority transit auction prices through the Panama Canal reached US$4 million for a Neopanamax slot, with average premiums rising from about US$135,000-140,000 before the Strait of Hormuz crisis to roughly US$385,000-425,000 by April and May. The increase is driven largely by energy cargoes as Asian buyers source non-Middle Eastern fuel.

- Date: 2026-05-14 · published 2026-05-14T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region Global · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16856-panama-canal-transit-auction-fees-rise-to-us-4-million
- Commodities: [Ocean Grain Freight](https://feedsoft.ai/c/OCEANFRT.md), [Crude Oil (WTI)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WTI.md)

## Why it matters

Higher canal premiums and waiting times raise freight costs for dry bulk and grain shipments routed through Panama, pushing up ocean freight and supporting US Gulf and Pacific export spreads.

## Read by commodity

- WTI: neutral
- OCEANFRT: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WTI | 2026-04-22 | [Tankers undercut grain ships in Panama Canal: queues have increased significantly — EADaily, April 22nd, 2026 — Politics, Russia](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16869-tankers-undercut-grain-ships-in-panama-canal-queues-have-increased.md) | +9.8% | +18.8% |
| WTI | 2021-03-26 | [Suez Canal crisis: Here are the cargoes in the crossfire - FreightWaves](https://feedsoft.ai/events/48030-suez-canal-crisis-here-are-the-cargoes-in-the-crossfire-freightwaves.md) | +5.0% | +6.3% |
| WTI | 2021-02-19 | [Traders rush to supply fuel to the U.S. as Texas freeze bites](https://feedsoft.ai/events/48823-traders-rush-to-supply-fuel-to-the-u-s-as-texas-freeze-bites.md) | +5.0% | -0.8% |
| WTI | 2021-09-30 | [China's farmers face more pain as power crunch drives up feed costs \| Financial Post](https://feedsoft.ai/events/45065-china-s-farmers-face-more-pain-as-power-crunch-drives-up-feed-costs-financial.md) | +3.5% | +10.2% |
| WTI | 2019-05-29 | [CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-MPLX to restart Ozark crude pipeline on Thursday after outage -traders](https://feedsoft.ai/events/59239-corrected-update-2-mplx-to-restart-ozark-crude-pipeline-on-thursday-after.md) | -9.3% | -2.2% |

## Sources

- freshplaza.com: https://www.freshplaza.com/north-america/article/9838139/panama-canal-transit-auction-fees-rise-to-us-4-million/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.