Hungarian Suzuki plant pauses production
The downtime is due to the events in the Red Sea, which have led to supply disruptions.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group has since November been attacking vessels in the Red Sea, part of a route that accounts for about 12% of the world's shipping traffic, in what they say is an effort to support Palestinians in the war with Israel.
Container vessels now need to travel via southern Africa and avoid the Suez Canal, which adds about 10 days and $1 million fuel costs to a journey from Asia to Europe.
Last week, Tesla and Volvo Car, majority-owned by China's Geely, among others, announced the suspension of production at their European factories. Tesla's production will be put on hold between 29 January and 11 February.
Suzuki told Reuters that the stoppage was due to delays in the delivery of Japanese-made engines.
QatarEnergy, the world's second largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, has stopped sending tankers via the Red Sea although production continues, a senior source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday.
Cover photo: Getty Images
