TraderHub reference desk

Shipping

Daily transit volume through the headline maritime chokepoints (satellite AIS, weekly updates). · imf-portwatch

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Where are physical trade flows through major maritime chokepoints changing?

AIS-derived vessel counts and estimated tonnage through critical passages, useful for detecting disruptions before slower official trade data.

Hub refresh: 6 hours · upstream publishes weekly revisionsJSON /api/reference/shipping ↗Source: IMF PortWatch ↗

source · imf-portwatchassembled · 2026-07-28 08:30:26Z

↗Tonnage estimates the physical volume crossing a passage; vessel count helps distinguish fewer large ships from many small ones.
↗Compare with each chokepoint’s own recent history. Absolute tonnage is structurally different across routes.

!AIS coverage, draught estimates and vessel classification can be revised.
!A transit is not the same as customs-cleared trade and does not identify the cargo’s final destination.

AIS-derived estimate of metric tons passing through the chokepoint.

Use changes versus that route’s own history.

Count of observed cargo and tanker transits.

Compare with tonnage to infer average vessel size or loading.

Position, speed, draught and status messages broadcast by ships.

Timely and global, but coverage and reported draught can be imperfect.

Suez Canal2026-07-19 · 43 vessels · 1.97M t

Panama Canal2026-07-19 · 34 vessels · 0.87M t

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