High street retailers are warning of supply problems after attacks on container ships in the Red Sea.
Concerns are mounting over the impact of disruptions along the vital Suez Canal route with fears it could push up prices for shoppers.
The boss of Next says delayed deliveries will hit sales if ships are forced to take long and expensive diversions. And Ikea said availability could be hit.
Next boss Simon Wolfson said it could add another two and a half weeks for its stock to reach the UK if vessels have to continue bypassing the Red Sea.
Attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi terrorists in the Suez Canal in Egypt have seen the world’s largest shipping firms halt deliveries through the Red Sea and instead sail around Africa to get here.
Since mid-November more than 10 transiting vessels which carry millions of items have been attacked by militants.
According to Swiss logistics and transport firm Kuehne + Nagel, 405 container ships have been diverted since mid-December adding thousands of miles to journeys which drives up costs and delays.
Lord Wolfson said: “Because the ships have to travel further, there will be surcharges. It will impact sales if this persists for a long time, but not to dramatic levels.
“A lot will depend on how long this goes on for. The extra sailing time eats into capacity in the network and we could begin to get constraints.
“At the moment it is an inconvenience not a crisis.” He added the delays would affect all clothes and goods from the Far East, but stressed they would be “manageable”.
Supply chain research company Project44 said items could start to be missing from shelves by February.
Shipping analysts Xeneta estimate every journey between Asia and Northern Europe could cost an extra £790,000. Its chief analyst Peter Sand said: “This is a cost that will ultimately be passed on to consumers.”
Nils Haupt, of shipping firm Hapag Lloyd, said transport was a small part of the costs of most products so he did not expect huge price hikes.
