Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., responds to the Biden administration re-designating the Houthis as a terror group after overturning the Trump policy on The Evening Edit. Shipping through the Suez Canal has dropped by almost half since Iran-backed Houthi insurgents began attacking ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas conflict. UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which supports developing nations in global trade, reports that there were 39% fewer ships passing through the canal compared to the beginning of December, leading to a 45% decrease in freight tonnage. Container shipments through the canal fell by 82% in the week ending January 19 from early December, while for liquefied natural gas (LNG), the decline was even more significant. The decline for dry bulk was less, and crude oil tanker traffic was slightly higher, according to Reuters. 
Freight levels through the Suez Canal have plummeted by 45% since Iran-backed Houthi militants began attacking vessels in the Red Sea, risking higher inflation and food insecurity. (Ahmed Gomaa/Xinhua via Getty Images / Getty Images)NAVY CONFIRMS IRAN’S INVOLVEMENT IN YEMEN HOUTHI REBEL SHIP ATTACKS UNCTAD has warned of risks of higher inflation, uncertainty about food security and increased greenhouse gas emissions due to the sharp decline.”We are very concerned,” Jan Hoffmann, UNCTAD’s head of trade logistics told a briefing late on Thursday. “We are seeing delays, higher costs, higher greenhouse gas emissions.”The Suez Canal is a critical shipping lane, given that it offers vessels a direct route between the North Atlantic and northern Indian oceans via the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Approximately 15% of global shipping traffic, including 30% of global container trade, passes through the Suez Canal. However, to avoid attacks or cargo theft, many ships are opting to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, a significantly longer route around the African continent. 
A Houthi military helicopter flies over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in this photo released November 20, 2023. (Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS / Reuters Photos)US STRIKES HOUTHI MISSILE CACHE IN YEMEN, OFFICIALS CONFIRMContainer shipping giant Maersk suspended use of the Red Sea and Suez Canal at the start of the year after one of its vessels was attacked by the Houthi militants, and it warned of “significant” consequences for global growth as a result of the disruptions. The U.S. and the U.K. have responded with strikes against the Houthi, which the U.S. recently reclassified as a terrorist group. The U.S. and the U.K. on Thursday announced sanctions leveled at four senior Houthi officials in Yemen.Hoffmann said there were now three key global trade routes disrupted, also including flows of grain and oils since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the Panama Canal, where low water levels from drought meant shipping last month was down 36% year-on-year and 62% from two years ago, according to Reuters.UBS has estimated that routing ships around Africa – which increases the journey length by about two and a half weeks – reduces an Asia-Europe trip’s effective capacity by about 25%. Hoffman said the longer routes and vessels traveling faster to compensate for detours means emissions are also rising. 
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development says that freight levels have nearly halved since Iran-backed Houthi militants began attacking vessels in the Red Sea. (Photo by Fareed Kotb/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERESpot container rates recorded their sharpest weekly increase of $500, affecting not just Asia-to-Europe shipments but also the non-Suez route to the U.S west coast, which has more than doubled. However, rates were still only about half of the peak hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.Hoffmann said that food prices could feel the impact, too, although end-consumers in developed countries may take some time to see an effect. He said that about half of the increases in food prices seen since the war in Ukraine were due to higher transport costs.”Passing on these higher freight rates to consumers takes time, up to a year until . . . we would really see them in the shop, whatever shop – Ikea, Walmart or something,” Hoffman said.Fox News’ Megan Henney and Reuters contributed to this report.
