Tesla has temporarily suspended most of its production at its factory near Berlin.
Filip Singer/EPA
EV manufacturers pause production in Europe as the Red Sea shipping crisis deepens.
The global economy depends on shipping containers.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Before the container was standardized, loading and unloading goods was very labor-intensive, inefficient and costly.
shutterstock.
The Suez Canal’s history has been forged over a century by multiple entities and people. Its past has been marked by colossal stumbling blocks.
A Target in Sheridan, Colorado, was very low on paper towels in November 2020.
AP Photo/David Zalubowski
Modern supply chains have become very efficient, but that means disruptions of any kind can lead to delays and shortages.
The procession of ships in the Suez canal for its opening. Illustration from the magazine “The Illustrated London News, volume LV, November 18, 1869.
DEA / BIBLIOTECA AMBROSIANA/Getty Images
Prior to the mid-19th century, the Isthmus of Suez – the 125km strip of land that lies between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea – was a quiet spot.
Beachgoers near Cairo watch a massive container ship sail to the Red Sea.
AP Photo/Amr Nabil
Before the container was standardized, loading and unloading goods was very labor-intensive, inefficient and costly.
The Ever Given was unwedged from the Suez Canal on March 29 after salvage crews battled for six days to free her.
Martin Lüke/Alamy
Driven by the promise of efficiency, container ships have grown to monstrous proportions over the past 15 years.
The Suez Canal on a normal day.
Photo by Camille Delbos/Art In All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images
Direct implications for maritime security are unlikely. But there will be ripple effects in the shipping industry and in many commercial sectors.
Suez Canal Authority
A bottleneck in the global shipping network will accelerate the move to more local production and shorter supply chains.
The container ship ran aground in the Suez Canal on March 23, blocking the passage of other ships and causing a traffic jam for cargo vessels.
EPA-EFE/Media Suez Canal Head Office
The Suez Canal is the ideal target for causing maximum disruption to global trade.