Tesla temporarily shutting Berlin factory due to Red Sea shipping attacks
Tesla will shut its Berlin gigafactory for about a fortnight from January 29 to February 11 due to a lack of components following the Red Sea situation.
The Red Sea has important shipping lanes, particularly between Asia and the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal in Egypt which transports about an eighth of global trade and a third of global container traffic and is particularly important for shipping between Asia and the Mediterranean, they note.
To reach the Red Sea, ships must travel through the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait off the Yemen coast.
The United States and Britain launched a series of strikes on Yemen on Thursday, aimed at the Iran-backed Houthi militia whose attacks on international shipping have disrupted one of the world’s most important shipping routes, says Reuters, adding Volvo Cars is suspending production at its Gent plant in Belgium for three days due to delays caused by the Red Sea situation.
A comment on the Electrek story notes EV demand in Europe is dwindling, while TransportTalk has reported on freight impacts from the Houthi attacks.
Global shipping companies have reorganised their routes to avoid the Red Sea and Suez Canal which means turning ships south to travel around Africa – adding thousands of kilometres and more than a week of additional travel time, media say.
Shipping companies say disruptions will likely continue and have advised companies to examine how they manage inventory in the meantime.
The Times of Israel has also reported on the Red Sea issue.
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