[Freight Weekly] Egypt Lost $7 Billion in Suez Canal Revenues

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Boxy and the Freight Weekly team (mainly Michael) want to wish you a happy holiday season. We might be a day late with the Christmas wishes, but it is our intent to continue to offer insights and analysis into some of the most important stories impacting freight.

Now, to business. Today’s newsletter is shorter and covers key news items.

🔥Due to the ongoing Red Sea crisis impacting transit through the Suez Canal, the Egyptian government has lost out on $7 billion in revenues throughout 2024:

• According to a press statement from President El-Sisi’s office, the Egyptian presidency met with the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) leadership on Dec. 26, 2024. The conversation discussed the revenue loss impacted by the ongoing Red Sea crisis, which has significantly limited the canal authority to remain solvent.

• “President El-Sisi was briefed on the revenues generated by the canal in 2024, which saw a decline of more than 60% compared to 2023,” said a spokesperson for El-Sisi. “This means that Egypt has lost nearly $7 billion in 2024 as a result of the ongoing events in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, which negatively affected navigational traffic through the Canal and the sustainability of global trade.”

• In an analysis by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, several experts predict that potential attack patterns by Yemeni Houthi militants backed by Iran will be largely dependent on the new U.S. presidency of Donald Trump, relations with Iran, and the state of the Israeli invasion and occupation of the Gaza Strip.

Bottom line: The ongoing crisis in the Red Sea will enter 2025, reverberating across the region and internationally as tensions between East and West have reached new heights. How will this impact global trade? How will this impact relations in Syria and Russia? All we can do is observe and report on the new year’s tumultuous geopolitical conditions.

MORE: “Global economic outlook for 2025: Modest growth amid trade tensions” - The Real Economy Blog

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📰OTHER NEWS IN FREIGHT📰

🫤Risks of port strike on the East and Gulf coasts see volumes climb at Pacific ports: Freightos data suggests that container volumes through trans-Pacific transits have climbed amid news of a potential strike by longshoremen on the East and Gulf coasts.

🏦Government shutdown averted, no appropriations for 2025: After a tumultuous stand-off in Congress, the lame-duck session ended with a government shutdown being averted with a stop-gap funding measure. No appropriations for 2025, though. This could impact agencies regulating trade and freight, like DOT, Labor, FMC, and FRA, etc.

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