在英國家族企業(yè)Boxer Gifts的老板Thomas O'Brien眼前，250%的成本上漲是一個冰冷的現(xiàn)實。這家位于利茲的公司，主要從事設計游戲和季節(jié)性禮物，其產(chǎn)品在中國生產(chǎn)，因此嚴重依賴于全球航運。然而，隨著最近一個多月來途徑紅海的商業(yè)船只頻繁遭到襲擊，導致船只不得不耗費更長的時間改道，避開這條世界上最繁忙的航道之一，Boxer Gifts所面臨的挑戰(zhàn)加劇了。

European business owners have widely stated in interviews with the media that the Red Sea crisis will inevitably lead to delays in transportation and rising prices.The MaritimeThe interruption could lead to a chain reaction to product supply and price.Helen Dickinson, CEO of the association, noted that this is a direct result of rising transportation and transportation insurance costs, and that some cargo transportation times will be significantly extended in the coming months.

Guy Platten, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Federation, has previously warned that the real impact may not be fully reflected until the end of January. At present, the main source of the Red Sea crisis is the Houthi group in Yemen, which has announced its support for Hamas and said its attacks targeted ships that travel to Israel through the Red Sea. While it is not clear whether all of the ships attacked were to Israel, frequent attacks have led to the world’s largest shipping companies including Mediterranean Shipping and Maersk to abandon the traditional routes that travel through the Suez Canal, instead of choosing to circumvent Africa.

O'Brien指出，這導致航運公司紛紛上調(diào)集裝箱運費，對于Boxer Gifts而言，過去兩周的運費已上漲了250%。該公司表示，將盡可能消化持續(xù)攀升的成本，但如果運費進一步上漲，就不得不轉(zhuǎn)嫁成本。此外，商品延誤也正成為一個問題，這可能會導致商品發(fā)貨延誤兩到三周，錯過情人節(jié)和母親節(jié)這兩個黃金銷售窗口。

German shipping giant Herbert said it will continue to avoid the Red Sea route at least until January 9. The company has about 50 ships a month passing through the Suez Canal, with about 25 ships already transitioning in the second half of December, and the current decision is expected to affect at least 15-20 ships.

The world’s two largest shipping companies, Mediterranean Shipping and Maersk, have suspended the route to the Red Sea until a separate notice. France’s Dauphine Maritime announced that it will increase container shipping charges from Asia to the Mediterranean region to 100% more than on January 1.

對于O'Brien來說，持續(xù)中斷造成的經(jīng)濟損失可能高達數(shù)十萬英鎊。他最擔心的并非僅是金錢問題，而是發(fā)貨的延期可能會讓客戶失望。他表示，與短期的金錢損失相比，名譽受損的時間要長得多。

Rachael Waring, an operator of a furniture trade enterprise, also faced similar difficulties. Some of her customers faced the problem of missing goods because the container failed to pass through the Red Sea before Christmas. Waring said the shipping fee for paying for a container has recently tripled and is expected to rise further.

“For customers, the future must consider the increase in transportation costs, which will obviously bring new problems to inflation,” she added.