2023 is coming to an end, and the international freight market is like previous years. There will be space shortages and price increases before Christmas and New Year. However, some routes this year have also been affected by the international situation, such as the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the Red Sea becoming a "war zone", and the Suez Canal being "stalled".
Since the outbreak of a new round of Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the Houthi armed forces in Yemen have continuously attacked ships "associated with Israel" in the Red Sea. Recently, they have begun to carry out indiscriminate attacks on merchant ships entering the Red Sea. In this way, a certain degree of deterrence and pressure can be exerted on Israel.
Tension in the Red Sea waters mean that the risk of spillover from the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has intensified, which has affected international shipping. As a number of cargo ships have recently sailed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and attacks in the Red Sea, the world's four leading European container shipping companies Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and CMA CGM have successively announced the suspension of all their container transportation through the Red Sea.
This means that cargo ships will avoid the Suez Canal route and go around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, which will add at least 10 days to the sailing time from Asia to Northern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, pushing up shipping prices again. The current maritime security situation is tense and geopolitical conflicts will make freight rate increase and have a considerable impact on global trade and supply chains.
We hope that you and the customers we are working with will understand the current situation of the Red Sea route and the measures taken by the shipping companies. This change of route is necessary to ensure the safety and security of your cargo. Please note that this rerouting will add approximately 10 or more days to shipping time. We understand this may impact your supply chain and delivery schedules.
Therefore, we strongly recommend that you plan accordingly and consider the following measures:
West Coast Route: If feasible, we recommend exploring alternative routes such as the West Coast Route to minimize the impact on your delivery times, our team can help you assess the feasibility and cost impact of this option.
Increase Shipping Lead Time: To effectively manage deadlines, we recommend increasing your product shipping lead time. By allowing extra transit time, you can reduce potential delays and ensure your shipment goes smoothly.
Transloading Services: To expedite the movement of your shipments and meet your deadlines, we recommend considering transloading more urgent shipments from our West Coast warehouse.
West Coast Expedited Services: If time sensitivity is critical to your shipment, we recommend exploring expedited services. These services prioritize the fast transportation of your goods, minimizing delays and ensuring timely delivery.
Other Modes of Transportation: For the transportation of goods from China to Europe, in addition to sea freight and air freight, rail transport can also be selected. The timeliness is guaranteed, faster than sea freight, and cheaper than air freight.
We believe that the future situation is still unknown, and the plans implemented will also change. Senghor Logistics will continue to pay attention to this international event and route, and make freight industry predictions and response plans for you to ensure that our customers are least affected by such events.
Post time: Dec-20-2023
