# The Panama Canal is thirsty. That's a problem for ocean carriers. | Supply Chain Dive

> Panama and Central America are experiencing one of the worst droughts on record, with January the driest month in 106 years and watershed precipitation about 90% below average. Gatun and Madden lakes are around seven feet below normal, forcing the canal to restrict cargo loads.

- Date: 2019-07-15 · published 2019-07-15T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: weather · region Panama · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/57986-the-panama-canal-is-thirsty-that-s-a-problem-for-ocean-carriers-supply-chain
- Commodities: [Ocean Grain Freight](https://feedsoft.ai/c/OCEANFRT.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

Cargo weight restrictions raise shipping costs and reduce capacity on the key US Gulf and East Coast to Asia grain route, supporting freight rates and widening origin spreads.

## Read by commodity

- CORN: neutral
- OCEANFRT: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2019-12-10 | [Canadian farmers can’t take a trick this year - Grain Central](https://feedsoft.ai/events/55539-canadian-farmers-can-t-take-a-trick-this-year-grain-central.md) | +4.3% | +3.9% |
| CORN | 2021-11-04 | [As demand for oat milk increases, oat supplies wanes due to drought, demand \| Dairy Processing](https://feedsoft.ai/events/44115-as-demand-for-oat-milk-increases-oat-supplies-wanes-due-to-drought-demand-dairy.md) | +3.7% | +0.1% |
| CORN | 2017-08-14 | [What Does Lack of El Niño, La Niña Mean For Winter? \| The Weather Channel](https://feedsoft.ai/events/69375-what-does-lack-of-el-nino-la-nina-mean-for-winter-the-weather-channel.md) | -2.0% | -4.4% |
| CORN | 2020-08-30 | [Southern Hemisphere weather watch for wheat market sentiment: Grain Market Daily - Supply Chain Council of European Union \| Scceu.org](https://feedsoft.ai/events/51520-southern-hemisphere-weather-watch-for-wheat-market-sentiment-grain-market-daily.md) | +0.2% | +5.4% |
| CORN | 2022-10-31 | [Is the Feeder Cattle Run for the Year Over Already?](https://feedsoft.ai/events/39261-is-the-feeder-cattle-run-for-the-year-over-already.md) | -2.2% | -3.8% |

## Sources

- supplychaindive.com: https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/drought-in-panama-canal-ocean-shipping-supply-chain/556260/

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