Ikea warns of product delays after Red Sea attacks

Ikea has warned of delays to some products as a result of attacks by Houthi rebels on ships heading to the Suez Canal.

The Houthis have been stepping up their attacks since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.

The Iran-backed rebels have been using drones and rockets to attack foreign-owned vessels transporting goods through the strait of Bab al-Mandab.

Its forced some companies to re-route cargo, to avoid the attacks.

The Swedish flat-pack furniture giant said it's looking for other options to ensure its products will be available to customers.

A spokesperson for Ikea said "The situation in the Suez Canal will result in delays and may cause availability constraints for certain IKEA products."

The furniture retailer said it was in dialogue with its shipping providers to ensure that they can be carried out safely.

The supply chain research company Project 44 says avoiding the Suez Canal will add a 7-10 day delay to shipping routes, and items could start to be missing from shelves by February.

Andrew Opie, the BRC's director of Food and Sustainability told the BBC the current crisis won't have any effect on the holiday season as those products are already in the UK but he warned: "In the longer term, some goods may take longer to be shipped, as they are routed via longer routes."

As well as delays to products, longer journeys will increase shipping costs which could have an impact on prices.

Shipping analysts Xeneta estimate every journey between Asia and Northern Europe could cost an extra $1million.

"This is a cost that will ultimately be passed on to consumers who are buying the goods," said Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta told Reuters

Other brands are keeping a close eye on the region to see what impacts it may have on their supply chains.

Electrolux has set up a taskforce with their carriers to look at a number of measures including "re-routing, identifying extra time-sensitive deliveries and finding alternative routes, if needed".

They said they expect any knock on effect on deliveries to be limited. The dairy goods company Danone told the BBC that they working with suppliers and partners to closely monitor the situation

The attacks have led the US to launch an international naval operation to protect ships in the Red Sea route, and countries including the UK, Canada, France, Bahrain, Norway and Spain have joined.

Shipping firms have welcomed the plans but can not yet determine when it will be safe to resume using the Suez canal - which could mean the disruption continues for some time