Shipping prices rise sharply and lead to increased prices in the shop – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country

Many container ships will not sail in the Red Sea due to the risk of being attacked by the Houthi militia. The ships thus have to sail a longer route around Africa. This means that the cost of transporting a container from Shanghai to Europe’s largest port in Rotterdam has almost tripled since Christmas, according to the shipping consultancy Dewry: on December 21, 2023, it cost $1,667 to transport a container. On 25 January this year, the price had risen to 4,984 dollars. Many goods that are sold in stores in Norway come here to the Port of Oslo in large containers. Photo: Kristine Urke Johansen / news Will affect customers Goods that will continue to Norway are also shipped with these containers from Asia to Rotterdam. Increased shipping prices make it more expensive to buy goods from abroad. Europris, among others, notices this, importing 40 per cent of what they sell in the store. On Thursday morning, the company issued a report for the fourth quarter, in which they write, among other things, that they expect shipping costs to increase and that this will affect them. Europris manager, Espen Eldal says that it will also have consequences for customers. – Customers must expect the price of certain items in the store to increase. How much they increase can vary, he says. Eldal also says that the goods they import can take between 10-12 extra days to be delivered to Norway. Nevertheless, he says that there is no danger that any items will be sold out. In the last quarter of last year, Europris’ profit before tax was NOK 3 billion. It was in mid-December that many ships stopped sailing in the Red Sea. Therefore, the situation in the Red Sea has little impact on the figures presented by Europris today. – Quite good for us For Norway – which is one of the world’s largest shipping nations – however, increased shipping prices are good and create positive ripple effects for the Norwegian economy. Investment director Robert Næss at Nordea thinks so. – There is a lot of money in shipping at the moment. The shipowners make money from it, because they get paid per day someone rents their ship, he says. – If you look at Norway as a whole, it is actually quite good for us. That means a lot for earnings in the shipping industry. – But can the goods at the store become more expensive for us? – Things will perhaps become a little more expensive for people, but it is difficult to say how much. I don’t think it will have major consequences, he replies. Investment director Robert Næss at Nordea. Photo: Emma-Marie B. Whittaker / news



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