UK Edition
Ikea has warned of delays getting furniture as its flat pack is hit by the Red Sea snarl up.
The Swedish furniture giant warned the situation in the Suez Canal “will result in delays and may cause availability constraints for certain Ikea products”.
It comes as global shipping firms race to re-route ships away from the region after a wave of attacks on commercial vessels.
It is not immediately clear which Ikea products pass through the Suez Canal, which sits at the northern end of the Red Sea.
However, Ikea lists China as one of the top five countries where it sources products. Suez acts as the main passage connecting Asia and Europe by water.
In 2021, when a large ship got wedged in the Suez Canal causing a major maritime logjam, Ikea said it had 110 containers on vessels caught in the pile-up.
Ikea’s UK stores are part of a franchise but buy products from the wider group. This means it shares the same supply chain and could fall victim to disruption.
It follows a warning last week that Christmas deliveries and fuel supplies were under threat following attacks from Houthi rebels on vessels in the region. BP this week announced it was suspending shipments of oil and gas through the Red Sea in response.
Ikea does not own container vessels and instead hires space on other companies’ ships.
A spokesman for the wider Inter Ikea Group said it was working “to ensure the safety of people working in the Ikea value chain and to take all the necessary precautions to keep them safe”.
It said it was looking at alternative supply options to secure the availability of our products and was continuing to monitor the situation closely.
Shipping companies are aiming to take alternative routes to try to avoid the Red Sea. However, the process is expected to mean delays to deliveries, with the route around Africa adding an estimated two weeks on to a ship’s journey time. This also means higher fuel costs.
Developments in the Red Sea threaten to cause supply chain turmoil in Europe. More than a 10th of global trade passes through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, according to the International Chamber of Shipping.
AP Moller-Maersk, which operates a fleet of container ships, and Maersk Tankers both announced they were no longer using the route last week.
The US is leading a coalition of navies trying to restore security in the region.