In the course of January, the price of maritime transport began to rise sharply again. The value of the global index World container index, which averages the prices of several major sea routes, has more than doubled in just the past four weeks. If just before Christmas, the index reported the average price for the transportation of a standard 40-foot container at roughly $1,660, this week it is almost four thousand dollars.
Only a third of the ships go to the Red Sea now
This year, price increases have other culprits. First, it’s the Houthi rebels in Yemen who are attacking shipping ships sailing through the Red Sea to the Suez Canal. They also use drones and other sophisticated weapons systems, and this armed group is supported by Iran. The insurgents justify the attacks by trying to hit ships carrying support for Israel, but in fact traffic in the area as a whole is threatened.
The main problem point is the southern bottleneck of the Red Sea – the Báb-al-Mandab strait, through which every ship heading from the south to Suez must pass. In the narrow strait, the ships move close to the shore, so the Yemeni coastal rebels have them right in front of them. Rather symbolically, the name of the strait means „Gate of Wailing“.
Car companies reduce production due to delayed deliveries
The increase in the price of container transport and the delay of shipments will of course also affect European companies – both exporters during exports and all manufacturers who are waiting for subcontracts from Asia. This primarily concerns the automotive industry. For example, the German Tesla factory or the Volvo brand already had to announce a production shutdown.
European producers are also worried about renewed pressure on input prices, which will necessarily be reflected in more expensive transport. For example, on the „classic“ route from the Chinese port of Shanghai to Rotterdam, transportation became more expensive in the past week by another five percent and is approaching the five thousand dollar mark per container.
