Right now there is a lot of disturbance in and around the Red Sea. And let the Red Sea precisely be a popular sea route for container ships coming to Europe from Asia. But most shipping companies do avoid this route at the moment. This forces them to sail further and longer and that’s resulting in higher costs and delayed deliveries. Even though DL has also been affected, we are doing all we can to find dignified solutions for our customers.
The numbers do not lie. The amount of cargo transported across the Red Sea is almost 70 percent lower than it normally is around this time. This is according to recent figures from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. To put this into perspective, more than 12 percent of world trade typically goes through the Red Sea.
Container prices have tripled
Because of the fact that shipping companies are currently opting for security and safety are they going for an alternative route that is sailing past South Africa. This alternative route is 10 days longer than the Red Sea route with the effect that it is creating delays and causing container costs to skyrocket. The container prices has more than tripled since the security problems that arose in early December. Whereas at the beginning of December the price was about $850 per container is it now running at nearly $2,700 (source: Drewry World Container Index (DWCI)).
If you have specific questions or if you want to know what effect it will have on you as a customer, please get in touch contact us at contact@dl.nl.