A leading British business lobby group suggests that more than half of U.K. retailers and exporters have been affected by the disruption to Red Sea trade from Houthi rebel attacks on cargo ships.
According to a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the price of shipping a container from Asia to Europe has gone up by as much as 300% for some businesses, while logistical delays have added up to three to four weeks to delivery times,
On average, the cost of shipping goods from China to Europe has more than doubled since December, as shipments must now travel around Africa rather than through the Suez canal – a route that takes about two weeks longer.
Last year, more than a fifth (22%) of global seaborne containers passed through the Suez canal, carrying goods including natural gas, oil, cars, raw materials and many manufactured products and industry components, according to a recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).
By the first half of this month, 586 container vessels had been rerouted away from the canal while container tonnage through the waterway fell by 82%.