SWEDISH furniture giant Ikea has begun chartering its own containerships and buying its own containers to meet the lack of shipping capacity and mounting congestion that confronts shippers worldwide, reports Oslo's Trade Winds.
The move was spurred by delays to the 100 containers Gothenburg-based Ikea had on the 20,388-TEU Ever Given, which went aground in the Suez Canal in March.
Some of Ikea's products are out of stock in stores worldwide, the company said.
"Congestion in ports combined with historically high demand has created an imbalance in the entire world market for maritime transport," said Ikea product delivery director Mikael Redin.
"On top of that must be added a general shortage of certain raw materials. All in all, this has unfortunately led to restrictions in our range today."
Mr Redin said the purchase of containers and chartering of vessels has improved the situation. "But despite this, we must take further measures to mitigate the effects of the disruptions in our maritime transport," he said.
In August, US retail giant Walmart revealed it had chartered space on box ships. And in June, another US big box retailer, Home Depot, took matters into its own hands by chartering its own container vessel.
https://www.shippingazette.com/menu.asp?encode=eng
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