The United States shipped 11% more propane between January and June than in the same period a year earlier. Exports reached a monthly record of 2.1 million barrels a day in April. India and other South Asian destinations absorbed additional cargoes, while shipments to China in the first half were 19% lower than a year earlier.
Propane is recovered in natural gas processing and oil refining. Higher gas output can therefore increase propane supply even without a corresponding rise in domestic use. For an overseas buyer, however, the relevant price is the one at the destination: a low price at a US terminal is attractive only if freight and handling leave the advantage intact.
Export terminal capacity and low water levels at the Panama Canal can limit how quickly additional cargoes move. To understand where the next shipment can go, available canal passages and changes in destinations matter alongside production volumes.