Logistics is the system of veins and arteries through which global trade flows, and the ports are the heart of this system; a strike has the same impact as a heart attack in a human being.
An article in Prensa.com states: "What should be ceaseless port activity has become bogged down. Nothing is worse for a production system, and is even more worrying when it affects to the logistics industry.
In January and February, 190,000 fewer TEUs were moved than in the same period of 2012, when the figure was 1,000,218 thousand TEUs.
"The country's five terminals (Balboa, Manzanillo International Terminal, Colon Container Terminal, the Port Authority of Singapore and Cristóbal) reported one million 28,000 TEU's (a unit equivalent to a 20 feet long container) in the two months," noted an article in Prensa.com.
Between January and March 1.796 million containers were mobilized, 315,000 more than in the same period in 2011, which means an increase of 21%.
In the first quarter of 2012, 1,796,000 20 foot long containers passed through the Panama Canal Zone and port, 315,241 containers more than in the same period in 2011, which represents growth of 21%, estimated the Panama Maritime authority (AMP in Spanish).