LOS ANGELES
\nOcean freight rates are surging after a missile attack and attempted hijacking of a Maersk ship this weekend prompted carriers to suspend plans to restart transits through the Red Sea, a key artery to the vital Suez Canal trade route.
\nYemen-based Houthi militants have been attacking high-value cargo vessels in the Red Sea since November in a show of support for Palestinian Islamist group Hamas fighting Israel in Gaza.
\nIt has forced ships to reroute around the southern tip of Africa, driving up the cost for vessels for the longer voyage, though rates are still far below pandemic levels reached in 2021.
\nEgypt\u2019s Suez Canal connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and is the fastest way to ship fuel, food and consumer goods from Asia and the Middle East to Europe.
\nShippers use the route to ferry as much as one-third of all global container cargo, including toys, tennis shoes, furniture and frozen food.
\nThe attacks are already delaying delivery of products destined for numerous companies, as the Suez route is used by the likes of IKEA, Walmart (WMT.N) and Amazon (AMZN.O).
\nAsia-to-North Europe rates more than doubled to above $4,000 per 40-foot container this week, with Asia-to-Mediterranean prices climbing to $5,175, according to Freightos (CRGO.O), a booking and payments platform for international freight.
\nSome carriers have announced rates above $6,000 per 40-foot container for Mediterranean shipments starting mid-month, and surcharges of $500 to as much as $2,700 per container could make all-in prices even higher, Judah Levine, Freightos\u2019 head of research, said in an email.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LOS ANGELES Ocean freight rates are surging after a missile attack and attempted hijacking of a Maersk ship this weekend prompted carriers to suspend plans to restart transits through the Red Sea, a key artery to the vital Suez Canal trade route. Yemen-based Houthi militants have been attacking high-value cargo vessels in the Red Sea […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-378742","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n