Main Points:
  •  The Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, which began in November 2023, have led to the rerouting of shipping lanes from Asia and Oceania to Europe and the Mediterranean. Instead of the shorter route through the Red Sea, ships are now taking the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. Despite this change, there has been no exceptional impact on Israel's foreign trade, which typically transported through the Red Sea. Specifically, the decrease in imports to Israel from Asia, Oceania, and East Africa was similar to the decrease in imports from the rest of the world.
  •  In contrast, the rerouting of shipping lanes from the Red Sea to the Cape of Good Hope resulted in a temporary decrease in imports from Asia and Oceania to other OECD Mediterranean countries. Globally, this rerouting led to a temporary decrease of about 10% in the value of trade typically transported through the Red Sea.
  •  Following the Houthi attacks and the rerouting of shipping lanes, there was initially an increase in sea freight rates from China to Europe and the Mediterranean. Subsequently, there was also an increase in freight rates from China to the USA, coinciding with a moderation of the initial rise in freight rates from China to Europe and the Mediterranean. This dynamic aligns with the reallocation of maritime shipping capacity (ships and containers) from various regions of the world to the shipping lanes between China and Europe and the Mediterranean, to compensate for the longer shipping routes. This change in capacity also explains the recovery of trade that is usually transported through the Red Sea.

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