the suez situation could compound issues for a supply chain already under pressure from the pandemic and a surge in buyingthe cargo ship blocking the suez canal is holding up traffic that carries nearly 10 billion worth of goods every day so a quick clearing of the logjam is key to limiting the economic fallout efforts continued thursday to dislodge the ever given container ship and restore traffic on the critical manmade waterway that connects the mediterranean to the red sea and provides a shipping shortcut between europe and asia how vital is the canal to shipping about 10 of all global trade flows through the 120milelong 193kilometerlong canal which allows tankers and container ships to avoid a long trip around the southern tip of africa advt the iconic shipping journal lloyds list estimates that goods worth 96 billion pass through the canal every day lloyds says about 51 billion of that traffic is westbound and 45 billion is eastbound about onefourth of that traffic is on container ships like the one that is currently burrowed into one side wall of the canal lloyds says more than 50 ships traverse the canal on an average day carrying 12 billion tons of cargo what effect will this have on supply chains when it comes to shipping goods from asia to europe there are virtually no alternatives such as rail or truck transportation said sharat ganapati an economics professor at georgetown university the blockage will delay a range of parts and raw materials for european products such as cotton from india for clothes petroleum from the middle east for plastics and auto parts from china he said the fact that you have the most pivotal node in the trading network being blocked is going to have important welfare effects around the world said woan foong wong an economics professor at the university of oregon there will be a less direct impact on the united states which receives most shipments from asia on the west coast still imports from europe may be delayed and the blockage will prevent empty shipping containers from being returned to asia adding to a container shortage caused by the rising demand for consumer goods during the pandemic if you get a bump in one place that is going to percolate through the system ganapati said it is going to take a while to get things ungummed up advt is the supply chain in trouble the suez situation could compound issues for a supply chain already under pressure from the pandemic and a surge in buying virusrelated restrictions have trapped crews on merchant ships congested ports have led to container ships anchoring off the california coast unable to dock and unload their goods shortages of semiconductors and rareearth elements have plagued manufacturers of cars and other consumer products we have lots of things indicating a vulnerable supply chain at risk for disruptions and now you put one more thing on top of that said julie swann a logistics