After terrorist assaults on ships in the Red Sea, the team at Toymaker Basic Fun, which is in charge of managing the ocean shipments of Tonka trucks and Care Bears for Walmart and other shops, is rushing to divert freight from the Suez Canal.
According to insiders in the logistics sector, suppliers to companies like Amazon, Home Depot, IKEA, and others are acting similarly as they struggle with the largest shipment disruption since the COVID-19 outbreak threw international supply chains into turmoil.
CEO Jay Foreman of Florida-based Basic Fun stated in a phone interview from his Hong Kong office that the company typically transports all toys intended for Europe from its factory in China via the Suez Canal, which is the fastest route for moving goods between those regions.
Approximately one-third of all container ship freight worldwide travels over that trade route, and it is anticipated that rerouting ships to avoid the southern tip of Africa may result in up to $1 million in additional fuel costs for each round journey between Asia and Northern Europe.
Basic Fun's preparations have been upended by the drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea by the Yemeni Houthis, who are demonstrating their support for the Palestinian Islamist party Hamas in its battle against Israel in Gaza.
The corporation is currently utilising the lengthier route to ship toys from China to ports in Rotterdam and the UK through the holidays.
Additionally, certain products intended for ports on the U.S. East Coast are being redirected from the Suez Canal to the Panama Canal, which is now experiencing a drought, while other goods are being sent directly across the Pacific Ocean to the West Coast.
"It's just going to take longer and it's going to cost more," said Foreman, who added that rates for some China-UK freight have more than doubled to around $4,400 per container since the Israel-Hamas conflict began in October.
The circumstances around the Suez Canal are still rapidly evolving, and shipping companies Maersk and CMA CGM are taking steps to start up military escorted crossings of the Red Sea.
According to Michael Aldwell, executive vice president of marine logistics at Kuehne + Nagel in Switzerland, the largest effect is probably going to occur during the following six weeks.
According to Aldwell, "you can't flick a switch" and rearrange international shipping. He anticipates that the diversions will result in a shortage of vessel space, strand empty containers necessary for China exports in the wrong locations, and substantially increase short-term transport price indexes.
Shipping a forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU) container from the Far East to the Mediterranean 'after escalation' now costs $2,320, compared to $1,865 per FEU in early December, according to estimates from freight platform Xeneta.
Shipping a full export unit (FEU) from China to the UK "post escalation" now costs $1,625 as opposed to $1,425 in early December.
According to Peter Sand, principal analyst at Xeneta, these rates do not include "extra ordinary" risk surcharges and "Emergency Recovery Cost," which can range from $400 to $2,000 per FEU.
Based on data from Kuehne + Nagel, as of Wednesday, the Red Sea attacks have forced 364 massive container ships, or about 20% of the world's fleet of containers, to change their route. These ships can transport slightly more than 2.5 million full-sized containers.
The less costly, contract-rate space that ship owners hold for clients is already being restricted, according to Anders Schulze, head of ocean business at digital goods forwarder Flexport.
He stated that a customer may only receive five containers at contract rates if they deliver five containers each month as opposed to the ten that were promised in their contract. The rest would be sold at exorbitant spot market prices.
According to logistics experts, this has sparked a rush to secure space in advance of the early February deadline in order to transport goods out of China before factories there close for the prolonged Lunar New Year holidays.
"Every single booking (out of China) now needs to be reconfirmed. The dates could change, the routing may change," said Alan Baer, CEO of OL USA, which handles freight shipments for clients. OL has contracts with ship owners and is part of the rush to secure spots on ships.
The most vulnerable shippers to being forced out are small ones.
After the shipments of Chinese-made machinery components were cancelled owing to the crisis, Marco Castelli, who operates an import/export company in Shanghai, has been attempting to rebook three containers of these components for delivery to Italy.
"Transfer my situation to a large corporation and you get what's going on," he replied.
Foreman of Basic Fun stated that the company's contracts with clients do not have a mechanism to recoup the additional cost. By the time of the Lunar New Year, the company hopes to have roughly 40 containers in the water. "There is a set price. The majority of suppliers will have to bear those expenses."
(Source:www.reuters.com)
According to insiders in the logistics sector, suppliers to companies like Amazon, Home Depot, IKEA, and others are acting similarly as they struggle with the largest shipment disruption since the COVID-19 outbreak threw international supply chains into turmoil.
CEO Jay Foreman of Florida-based Basic Fun stated in a phone interview from his Hong Kong office that the company typically transports all toys intended for Europe from its factory in China via the Suez Canal, which is the fastest route for moving goods between those regions.
Approximately one-third of all container ship freight worldwide travels over that trade route, and it is anticipated that rerouting ships to avoid the southern tip of Africa may result in up to $1 million in additional fuel costs for each round journey between Asia and Northern Europe.
Basic Fun's preparations have been upended by the drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea by the Yemeni Houthis, who are demonstrating their support for the Palestinian Islamist party Hamas in its battle against Israel in Gaza.
The corporation is currently utilising the lengthier route to ship toys from China to ports in Rotterdam and the UK through the holidays.
Additionally, certain products intended for ports on the U.S. East Coast are being redirected from the Suez Canal to the Panama Canal, which is now experiencing a drought, while other goods are being sent directly across the Pacific Ocean to the West Coast.
"It's just going to take longer and it's going to cost more," said Foreman, who added that rates for some China-UK freight have more than doubled to around $4,400 per container since the Israel-Hamas conflict began in October.
The circumstances around the Suez Canal are still rapidly evolving, and shipping companies Maersk and CMA CGM are taking steps to start up military escorted crossings of the Red Sea.
According to Michael Aldwell, executive vice president of marine logistics at Kuehne + Nagel in Switzerland, the largest effect is probably going to occur during the following six weeks.
According to Aldwell, "you can't flick a switch" and rearrange international shipping. He anticipates that the diversions will result in a shortage of vessel space, strand empty containers necessary for China exports in the wrong locations, and substantially increase short-term transport price indexes.
Shipping a forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU) container from the Far East to the Mediterranean 'after escalation' now costs $2,320, compared to $1,865 per FEU in early December, according to estimates from freight platform Xeneta.
Shipping a full export unit (FEU) from China to the UK "post escalation" now costs $1,625 as opposed to $1,425 in early December.
According to Peter Sand, principal analyst at Xeneta, these rates do not include "extra ordinary" risk surcharges and "Emergency Recovery Cost," which can range from $400 to $2,000 per FEU.
Based on data from Kuehne + Nagel, as of Wednesday, the Red Sea attacks have forced 364 massive container ships, or about 20% of the world's fleet of containers, to change their route. These ships can transport slightly more than 2.5 million full-sized containers.
The less costly, contract-rate space that ship owners hold for clients is already being restricted, according to Anders Schulze, head of ocean business at digital goods forwarder Flexport.
He stated that a customer may only receive five containers at contract rates if they deliver five containers each month as opposed to the ten that were promised in their contract. The rest would be sold at exorbitant spot market prices.
According to logistics experts, this has sparked a rush to secure space in advance of the early February deadline in order to transport goods out of China before factories there close for the prolonged Lunar New Year holidays.
"Every single booking (out of China) now needs to be reconfirmed. The dates could change, the routing may change," said Alan Baer, CEO of OL USA, which handles freight shipments for clients. OL has contracts with ship owners and is part of the rush to secure spots on ships.
The most vulnerable shippers to being forced out are small ones.
After the shipments of Chinese-made machinery components were cancelled owing to the crisis, Marco Castelli, who operates an import/export company in Shanghai, has been attempting to rebook three containers of these components for delivery to Italy.
"Transfer my situation to a large corporation and you get what's going on," he replied.
Foreman of Basic Fun stated that the company's contracts with clients do not have a mechanism to recoup the additional cost. By the time of the Lunar New Year, the company hopes to have roughly 40 containers in the water. "There is a set price. The majority of suppliers will have to bear those expenses."
(Source:www.reuters.com)
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