Red Sea, Confcommercio Alert: +129% container costs and longer shipping times

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Tensions on the Red Sea linked to attacks Al-Houthi Al-Ripli They think about the national and European economic system. The irregularity of the supply of goods and the increase in costs affect the transportation system and international trade of Italian companies. This is what comes out of ACommercial investigation. Navigation times in trade with the Far East are lengthened by 10-12 days due to the circumnavigation of the African continent.

Shipping costs more than doubled

Shipping costs for a 40-foot container on the Shanghai-Genoa route have doubled (+129%) compared to 2023. Ships passing through the Suez Canal, through which almost 40% of our maritime trade (€154 billion) passes, have been reduced, as The survey shows, by more than a third with strong sanctions imposed on each of the national ports, especially those in the Adriatic Sea, such as Trieste and Venice, the most affected by international traffic, which, in general, for the Italian regime. Moreover, regarding the international trade of Italian companies, the main problems relate mainly to imports.

The automotive, fashion and some food sectors are the sectors that suffer the most

In fact, it is estimated that 16% of Italian imports of valuable goods pass through the Suez Canal, the memo explains, and failure to arrive for imported goods, in many cases, exposes Italian companies to severe penalties as suppliers of supplies. series. The automotive, fashion, and some food sectors (for example, rice, vegetable oils, tea, and coffee) are the sectors that suffer most from the slowdown in imports and the decline in maritime traffic through Suez.

Proposals

Without compromising the need to restore the safety and practicality of the route through the Suez Canal, according to Confcommercio, on the transport and logistics front, immediate interventions are needed such as suspension of the emissions trading system for port-bound traffic European shipping operations (eg Gioia Tauro) and exemption from restrictions Imposed on the crossing of heavy vehicles through the Alpine passes (breneiro). On the import and export side, it is necessary to prepare models for contractual protection or insurance coverage intended for companies that have to pay fines to customers due to delays or failure to arrive immediately.

Returning to the effects of the Red Sea crisis, and speaking in particular of rising costs, according to the Drury Research Center, in the last week of January, freight rates for a 40-foot container on the Shanghai-Genoa route remained stable, on average, at $6,300, recording +129. % compared to the same period in 2023.