This year, the Panama Canal faces a more intense dry season than usual.
While the dry season typically lasts from December to May, this time the reduced capacity due to the dry spell will force ships traveling between the Asia-Pacific and the U.S. East Coast to detour via the Suez Canal.
As mentioned earlier, when the Suez Canal is not feasible, the Cape of Good Hope becomes the last lifeline between the Asia-Pacific and the U.S. East Coast.
The journey to the U.S. East Coast is also significantly longer than before. Although the nature of natural disasters suggests a predictable recovery time for capacity, the instability will not be as pronounced as the impact on the Europe route. Still, attention should be paid to the instability of schedules and prices due to the short-term decline in capacity.
Panama dry season report:
https://fortune.com/2023/12/04/panama-canal-dry-backed-up-brutal-drought-shippers-paying-4m-jump-queue/