As of: January 30, 2024, 2:48 p.m
By: Lisa Mayerhofer
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The Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are having an impact on the global economy.
This could also influence consumer prices in Germany.
Berlin – The attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen on ships in the Red Sea could lead to gaps in German supermarket shelves.
Large shipping companies are increasingly avoiding the important trade route.
The Red Sea crisis “may also impact prices.
This leads to delays and longer delivery times for the companies affected,” a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Economics told
Bild
on Tuesday.
Goods traffic through Suez Canal almost halved due to Houthi attacks
The volume of trade processed through the canal has fallen by 42 percent in the past two months, a UN official said last Thursday.
“We are very concerned about the attacks against shipping in the Red Sea,” said Jan Hoffmann of the UN World Trade and Development Conference.
The number of container ships traveling through the Suez Canal each week has decreased by 67 percent compared to the previous year, Hoffmann said.
Oil transit fell by 18 percent.
Houthi fighters sit in the back of a vehicle in Sanaa.
The attacks on ships in the Red Sea also have an impact on global trade.
© Uncredited/AP/dpa
Logistician: “There is clearly a risk that we will see shelf gaps in the stores”
This also has an impact on Germany: “There is clearly a risk that we will see gaps in shelves in stores,” warns Julien Cote from logistics service provider Wakeo to
Handelsblatt
.
There is a particularly high risk of this with sporting goods or small electronics.
“Individual models of smartphones, screens or laptops may be missing,” says Patrick Lepperhoff, supply chain expert at the consultancy Inverto, to the magazine.
But the situation also poses challenges for retailers who offer promotional and seasonal goods.
Ikea warned of delivery delays and Aldi Nord also expects longer delivery times.
Consumers are also threatened with higher prices: freight rates for a standard container have increased from under $1,500 to just under $5,000 since October, according to
Handelsblatt
.
“Manufacturers generally have to pass on the increased transport costs.
Even if this often only happens partially and with a time delay,” supply chain expert Lepperhoff told the magazine.
“The increased logistics costs are a driver of inflation.”
Houthi attacks in the Red Sea: Detours cause high additional costs
The Red Sea and the Suez Canal are key trade routes for world trade, around 20,000 ships normally pass through the Suez Canal each year.
Because of attacks by Houthi rebels on ships in the region, many major shipping companies have decided to avoid this route.
If container ships now have to go around the southern tip of Africa on the way between Asia and Europe, the journey can take a week longer and the detour also causes additional fuel costs amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros.
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Since mid-November, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have attacked numerous ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden that they accuse of having ties to Israel.
The militia sees itself as part of the self-proclaimed “Axis of Resistance” directed against Israel, of which the radical Islamic Hamas is also a member.
In response to the attacks, the USA and Great Britain have been attacking Houthi positions in Yemen since January.
With material from AFP and dpa