Suez Canal maritime traffic remains problematic in early 2026, with transits remaining 60% below pre-disruption levels despite Houthi attacks ceasing. On January 11, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly inaugurated major industrial projects within the Suez Canal Economic Zone that signal economic diversification.
Low Traffic Levels Persist Despite Security Improvements
Suez Canal traffic in 2026's first week remained 60% below that seen during its corresponding week in 2023, before vessels began circumnavigating Cape of Good Hope. This marked over 100 days since Houthi attacks on Minervagracht (September 29, 2025) and 43 days following their declaration ending assaults against shipping. BIMCO Chief Shipping Analyst Niels Rasmussen noted that deadweight ton transits across sectors had decreased between 57-64% since 2023 while container ships avoided it entirely at 86% reduction.
Product tankers proved surprisingly resilient, with transits only 19% below 2023 levels in Q4 2025 (compared with 45% in 2024), as operators capitalized on freight rate premiums. Bulk carriers and crude tankers experienced deeper drops at 55% and 32% respectively. CMA CGM recently announced they will resume MEDEX/INDAMEX services via Suez in January 2026; Maersk Sebarok became the first Maersk vessel to transit since early 2024 on December 19, 2025 with Maersk outlining a stepwise approach depending on sustained security measures.
Rasmussen noted normalization appears plausible but pace uncertain, potentially cutting container ship demand by 10% and others by 2-3% upon full recovery.
Prime Minister Inaugurates Nine SCZONE Factories
On January 11, 2026, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Transport and Industry Minister Kamel el Wazir celebrated the inauguration of nine factories within the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) with investments exceeding $153 million. Projects located within Sokhna industrial area range from renewable energy generation, home appliances manufacturing, textile production and food processing - each intended to localize production while decreasing import reliance.
Attracting much attention was the $116 million Elite Solar technology complex located within TEDA-Egypt zone, featuring Elite Solar Suez Technology plant ($40 million, 2 GW solar cells and boards annually) and Green Energy (3 GW solar panels), respectively. Local content reached 50%, employing 70 engineers as part of over 1,000 jobs that contributed directly towards Egypts 2030 green energy hub vision.
Vanward factory ($12 Million+ Chinese Investment), covers 26,000 sqm and produces over 500,000 gas water heaters and 2 Million heat exchangers annually for export to Africa, Europe and Middle East markets. Meanwhile Xin Jin textile complex ($20 Million 20,000 sqm), produces 60 Million Meters Fabric annually plus 10,000 Tonnes Yarn (70%) which are then shipped off as export. Furthermore Mexicano Food Industries ($5 Million) produces 60,000 Tons Corn Grits annually with 70 Percent being sent overseas including Jordan!
SCZONE Chairperson Waleid Gamal El-Dein stressed the importance of creating integrated manufacturing chains with higher value-added output. At SCZONEs inaugural openings for industrial bases outside assembly, ministers, Suez Governor and developer officials were in attendance.
Implications for Maritime Trade
Canal traffic recovery relies heavily on security and insurance trends; SCZONE expansions add further logistics appeal in this region. Maersk anticipates supply chain volatility from route shifts which could strain ports with inventory surges; industry watchers such as Xeneta consider Suez resumption as risky; they advocate pricing flexibility in case disruptions happen in 2026.