4 ms·

They run the canal at maximum capacity indefinitely. Due to the lack of downtime, any delays are in effect the same thing as a cancel from the perspective of th

They run the canal at maximum capacity indefinitely. Due to the lack of downtime, any delays are in effect the same thing as a cancel from the perspective of the canal owners.

Reason077 6y ago
According to reports, the backlog of traffic should be cleared in about 10 days. They must have some spare capacity available in order to do that.
- matkoniecz 6y ago
  Maybe backlog will be cleared as result of some ships taking route around Africa?
- foobarbaz33 6y ago
  The canal was blocked for only 6 days. Then 10 days to clear would suggest the opposite, that there is not spare capacity. All shippers have to eat a permanent delay that will never be caught backup, everyone is 10 days behind forever. And re-routes around Africa don't count as spare capacity for the canal itself. Of course there may be some *literal* spare capacity, that could be realized by violating processes. But the canal is in fact run at maximum capacity according to the maximum that official process allows.
distrill 6y ago
> They run the canal at maximum capacity indefinitely We have to stop doing this with all of our critical systems, it causes hiccups to be so costly.
- kccqzy 6y ago
  Low utilization can be even more costly.
- faeyanpiraat 6y ago
  But building everything to have a higher capacity also wastes a lot of resources! It is a balancing game.
- s1artibartfast 6y ago
  What is so critical about the Suez Canal. If it were down for a month/year. what do you think the impacts would be? Would most ship traffic simply go around Africa?
  - KineticLensman 6y ago
    Accepting that globalization wasn't such a big thing then, the closure between 1967 and 1975 would be a good source of objective 'what actually happened' data.
  - gbronner 6y ago
    We'd have to build a lot more ships and containers and burn a lot more fuel. Consumer prices would be higher, and some products wouldn't be on shelves
- anticristi 6y ago
  Like having nurses and doctors idling around, just in case a pandemic appears out of nowhere?

They run the canal at maximum capacity indefinitely. Due to the lack of downtime, any delays are in effect the same thing as a cancel from the perspective of the canal owners.

Reason077 6y ago

According to reports, the backlog of traffic should be cleared in about 10 days. They must have some spare capacity available in order to do that.

matkoniecz 6y ago
Maybe backlog will be cleared as result of some ships taking route around Africa?
foobarbaz33 6y ago
The canal was blocked for only 6 days. Then 10 days to clear would suggest the opposite, that there is not spare capacity. All shippers have to eat a permanent delay that will never be caught backup, everyone is 10 days behind forever. And re-routes around Africa don't count as spare capacity for the canal itself. Of course there may be some *literal* spare capacity, that could be realized by violating processes. But the canal is in fact run at maximum capacity according to the maximum that official process allows.

distrill 6y ago

> They run the canal at maximum capacity indefinitely We have to stop doing this with all of our critical systems, it causes hiccups to be so costly.

kccqzy 6y ago
Low utilization can be even more costly.
faeyanpiraat 6y ago
But building everything to have a higher capacity also wastes a lot of resources! It is a balancing game.
s1artibartfast 6y ago
What is so critical about the Suez Canal. If it were down for a month/year. what do you think the impacts would be? Would most ship traffic simply go around Africa?
- KineticLensman 6y ago
  Accepting that globalization wasn't such a big thing then, the closure between 1967 and 1975 would be a good source of objective 'what actually happened' data.
- gbronner 6y ago
  We'd have to build a lot more ships and containers and burn a lot more fuel. Consumer prices would be higher, and some products wouldn't be on shelves
anticristi 6y ago
Like having nurses and doctors idling around, just in case a pandemic appears out of nowhere?