United States: Ikea, the largest furniture retailer in the world, has issued a warning, stating that the attacks by Yemeni rebels in the Red Sea may disrupt global trade, which could cause delays in deliveries and affect the availability of certain products.
In response to the attacks by Houthi militants and their protests against the Israel-Gaza war, many major shipping companies stopped sending vessels through the Suez Canal. As a result, the largest furniture company in the world said it was “evaluating other supply options to secure the availability of our products.”
Along with Evergreen, OOCL, Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, and the Mediterranean Shipping Company, BP, an oil company, suspended operations in the vital waterway that connects the Indian Ocean to Europe on Monday.
By Wednesday, over 100 container ships had been diverted to avoid the region around southern Africa; this adds approximately 6,000 nautical miles to a normal trip from Asia to Europe and could cause a three- to four-week delay in the delivery of goods.
“The situation in the Suez canal will result in delays and may cause availability constraints for certain Ikea products. We are in close dialogue with our transportation partners to ensure the safety of people working in the Ikea value chain and to take all the necessary precautions to keep them safe,” the retailer said.
Delivery before Christmas, which arrived more than a month ago, will not be impacted by the issues, but if they are not fixed quickly, spring trade may be negatively impacted.
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