Suez Crisis Costs Italy $95 Million a Day

The Red Sea crisis, which is forcing most maritime cargo to bypass the Suez Canal, is costing Italy 8.8 billion euros, or 95 million per day. This was reported by the Italian confederation of handicraft workers Confartigianato, which calculated the damage to Italian foreign trade in the period from November 2023 to January 2024, that is, from the moment the Houthis began attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea.

In these 3 months, due to difficult trade with Asia, Oceania, the Gulf countries, and Southeast Africa, Italy lost 3.3 billion, equal to 35 million per day, due to failed or delayed exports and 5.5 billion (60 million per day) due to lack of product supplies.

The crisis and, as a consequence, the lengthening of sea routes that now go around Africa are leading to longer delivery times for goods and higher transport costs. The cost of transportation from China during this period increased by more than 120%.

“The escalation of the crisis in the Middle East is damaging the ‘Made in Italy’ system and the supply of key products for the transformation of Italian production, exacerbating the slowdown in international trade,” commented Confartigianato President Marco Granelli. “The consequences of the Red Sea crisis, combined with continued tightening of monetary policy and the resumption of European fiscal rules, could have serious consequences for Italian economic growth.”

The businesses most at risk are small and micro enterprises, and key Italian export sectors are involved, such as machinery and factories, food, metal products, other goods, including jewelry and eyewear, fashion, wood, and furniture. Small businesses in the transport sector have been particularly affected: the transport and logistics system has a total turnover of 2.5 billion euros for 13,000 companies.

Lombardy is the region that exports the most goods through the Red Sea (worth 12.9 billion), followed by Emilia-Romagna – 9.4 billion, Veneto – 5.7 billion, Tuscany – 4.7 billion, Piedmont – 4 .2 billion, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia – 2 billion.