The Red Sea lies on the main trade route between Asia and Europe, with 30% of global container carriers using the route every year. The situation there is currently highly volatile, with an increase in Houthi attacks on ships crossing the Bab al-Mandab Strait in recent weeks. This has forced shipping companies to divert vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, a safer but much longer and more costly route.
Chinese manufactured goods are incurring extended transport times and increased freight costs as a result. The re-route around Africa adds up to an extra 10 days to shipping times and incurs millions of extra pounds in fuel costs. Sectors dealing with perishable goods and imported consumer goods will be the most severely affected, with the biggest impact likely to come over the next six weeks, according to Michael Aldwell, executive vice president of sea logistics for Kuehne + Nagel.
Shipping routes from Asia to Europe Source: Veson Nautical/BBC
Invopak's packaging supply unaffected by the Red Sea Crisis
Because we source all of our packaging from the UK and Europe Invopak's supplies have been unaffected. We have also invested an extra £1million in stock already this year, so the A-lines that our customers rely on are already in our warehouse, ready to be delivered.
Against a volatile global backdrop - experience matters. Invopak has been in the packaging industry for fifty years and our long-standing relationships with the best manufacturers, and strong buying power helps us to secure your packaging supply.
Order from Invopak and...
- Thanks to our large stockholdings, you can get the essential packaging you need when you need it.
- Save time with an online account that lets you view our live stock levels and order instantly.
- Receive delivery dates that you can rely on.
- Enjoy our Feefo Gold-rated customer experience.