Point to Point

Definition: Few supply management professionals need a tutorial on the most famous canal in the Americas — if not the world’s most iconic waterway, period. As a headline in The New York Times succinctly explains: “The Panama Canal is losing its water.” After the canal’s lower water levels from a summer drought made international news, the winter months have brought no relief. An El Niño weather system has necessitated further vessel restrictions, from 29 a day down to a planned 18 in February. About 35 ships pass through the canal daily under normal conditions.