Seatrade-Maritime: Panama ports container volumes up 1.8% in H1

Published by Seatrade-Maritime

Panama’s ports moved 4.91 million teu, up from 4.82 million, between January and June 2026, representing growth of 1.8% compared with the same period a year before, according to statistics from the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP).

These results come amidst the operational transition of the Balboa and Cristobal terminals.

The ports of Balboa and Cristobal were formerly managed by CK Hutchison’s Panama Ports until both concessions were cancelled January 29, by Panama’s Supreme Court, and were administrated by the Panama Maritime Authority until February 23, when APM Terminals assumed the administration of Balboa and TiL , took over the port of Cristobal.

Most terminals registered growth during the first six months of 2026.

Among the best-performing terminals, SSA Marine MIT, in the Caribbean province of Colon, stood out with 1,610,841 teu, representing year-on-year growth of 23.1%. It was followed by Evergreen’s Colon Container Terminal (CCT) with 981,246 teu, a rise of 19.8%, while PSA Panama International Terminal, on the Pacific side, reached 742,238 teu, an increase of 5.4% compared with the first half of 2025.

Together, these three terminals more than offset the decline recorded at Balboa and Cristóbal.

The performance was very different at the two ports managed until March by Panama Ports. Balboa recorded 1,143,984 teu, a decrease of 11.9%, while Cristobal handled 409,685 teu, representing a fall of 34.9% – the largest decline among all terminals in Panama’s container ports.