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Graphic shows numbers illustrating the impact of the Suez canal blockade.
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ECONOMY

Suez blockage holding $9.6bn of goods a day

By Jordi Bou

March 26, 2021 - The stranded mega-container ship in the Suez canal is holding up around $9.6 billion of goods each day, according to shipping data.

The shipping journal Lloyd’s List estimates that goods worth $9.6 billion pass through the canal every day. Lloyd’s says about $5.1 billion of that traffic is westbound and $4.5 billion is eastbound.

The extended disruption is going to stretch a container shipping industry that’s already operating at full capacity, threatening more delays for European companies that rely on a steady flow of Asian imports and for consumers who have grown fond of fast online purchases during the pandemic.

Some 5.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude and oil products
transited the Suez canal and the Sumed Pipeline in 2016, according to EIA.

About 12% of all global trade flows through the Suez canal, which allows tankers and container ships to avoid a long trip around the southern tip of Africa.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 26/03/2021; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Associated Press
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