THE BIG PICTURE
has stated that in the first two months of 2024, the volume of transit trade going through the Suez Canal had halved year- on-year. A July New York Times article put container traffic through Suez at “one tenth of its usual flow,” which has meant many ships going around the southern Cape of Africa. This rerouting is far more expensive and demands significantly more energy use – Ship Management International reported that 20-foot container miles traveled have increased by 17.9% in 2024 compared to the same period of time in 2023. Maersk reports that the number of ships passing through the canal has dropped by 66% since carriers began to divert ships. How this issue develops will depend on many factors – the reaction of the shipping carriers themselves, for one. Freight tariffs have already gone up as a result of the crisis, and as long as the Red
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