Recently, due to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Houthi armed attacks on the Red Sea route, the world's major shipping routes through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal container traffic has been affected. Shipping companies have suspended Red Sea routes, causing congestion and higher freight rates, which in turn affects the global supply chain and the international maritime market.

Since the start of the new Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked targets in the Red Sea waters with missiles and drones, and in less than a month, about 16 ships of all kinds have been attacked or even seized. International shipping continues to be disrupted, recently a number of shipping companies announced the suspension of navigation in the Red Sea.

A number of shipping giants, including Mediterranean Shipping Company, CMA CGM, Maersk Group and Hapag-Lloyd, have suspended their container ships in the Red Sea and adjacent waters. In addition, COSCO Shipping, Orient Overseas and Evergreen Shipping have verbally notified the suspension of cargo acceptance on the Red Sea route. ONE Marine Network Shipping is also currently verbally advising the suspension of cargo pick-up on the Red Sea route.

At this point, the world's major container shipping companies have started or will soon stop sailing the Red Sea - Suez waterway. About 12% of the world's cargo traffic passes through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

First, in the case of congestion in the Red Sea route, some cargo and container ships have been forced to divert, choosing to go around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa. The change will add about 3,400 nautical miles, or about 14 extra days, to the cost of shipping. In addition, the Suez Canal may also be at risk of closure, further increasing tensions in the shipping market.

Secondly, affected by the disruption of the Red Sea route, the container volume of the world's major routes through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal may fluctuate. Some shipping companies have suspended navigation in the Red Sea, which will reduce the volume of routes and could trigger instability in the global shipping industry. At the same time, shippers and shipping companies may adjust their shipping networks in response to the changing situation, which will affect the allocation of capacity in the global shipping market.

As for the direction of international sea freight rates, shipping companies may increase freight rates and war risk surcharges due to the tension on the Red Sea route. On the one hand, traffic congestion leads to longer waiting time and increased operating costs. On the other hand, shipping companies need to raise freight rates to cover potential losses in response to possible attacks and security risks. In addition, as some cargo and container ships are forced to divert, the demand for long-distance routes may increase, and the fees of major shipping companies will further push up freight rates.

To sum up, in the current situation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Houthi armed attacks on the Red Sea route, the container volume of the world's major routes through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal may be affected, shipping companies may adjust routes and networks, resulting in route congestion and freight increases. This will in turn affect global supply chains and international maritime markets, potentially leading to higher commodity prices. Therefore, it is recommended that relevant enterprises and cargo owners pay close attention to changes in the situation and reasonably plan routes and transportation arrangements to reduce transportation costs and risks.

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JIANGSU BESTLINECN MODERN LOGISTICS CO., LTD. was founded in 2014, located in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, is a comprehensive company to provide logistics solutions for customers, its subsidiaries are: Shanghai Magnesium Jia, Changzhou McKesson, Wuxi Beilian.

JIANGSU BESTLINECN MODERN LOGISTICS CO., LTD.  services include: air and sea international freight forwarding, domestic road transport, general and bonded warehousing, ASEAN cross-border road transport, five Central Asian road cross-border transport, Sino-European road and rail transport, integrated customs clearance and inspection services.