IKEA delivery delays. The network explains
Swedish furniture giant Ikea says some deliveries will be delayed and products will be less available. The wave of Houthi attacks has already diverted at least $80 billion in cargo from the Red Sea, which provides access to the Suez Canal.
Ikea has warned of delivery delays for some products due to the massive diversion of containers from the Red Sea for security reasons. “The situation in the Suez Canal will cause delays and may result in restrictions on the availability of some IKEA products,” the company says.
Attacks on ships
The company assures that the safety of personnel working in the supply chain is its priority and is assessing other options to secure product availability. Ikea does not have its own container ships, but uses the services of external operators.
At least $80 billion worth of cargo has already been diverted from the waterway providing access to Egypt’s Suez Canal, the fastest passage between Europe and Asia, due to a wave of drone and missile attacks by Yemen-based Houthi fighters.
Alternative routes
According to Reuters, Sweden’s Electrolux, the world’s largest manufacturer of household appliances, has established a task force to find alternative routes and identify priority deliveries.
Shipping giants Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM are among those who confirmed this week that as attacks continue they will begin diverting ships already in transit around the longer Cape of Good Hope route along southern Africa. Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc told CNBC on Tuesday that the company has assessed there is currently an unacceptable risk to its employees because it has no way of predicting which ships will be targeted.
Houthi leaders say the attacks are a response to Israel’s bombing of Gaza and are focused on ships bound for Israel, but the attack also affected many other ships using the route.
