Shipping
Among the big five global shipping giants that stopped transit through the Red Sea, four are European (MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd), one Chinese (COSCO), and none American.
US shippers like Matson, APL, SeaLand, Crowley and TOTE operate Pacific and Americas routes and were largely unaffected by Houthi activities.
Retail & Manufacturing
The cost of a shipping a container from Asia to the US jumped 160-220% from 2023-2024. Shipping the same container from Asia to the Mediterranean shot up 285%, and up to 400% to Northern Europe, a disaster for consumers and producers alike.
For example, while 25-30% of US Asia-sourced automotive parts were shipped via the Red Sea before the crisis, in Europe it was 70%, causing brief car factory shutdowns in Belgium (Volvo) and Germany (Tesla), but none in the US.
Same story in other sectors, with the Red Sea once transiting:
20-30% of Asia-sourced household appliances going to the US vs 30-40% to Europe
20-25% vs 30-40% of electronics
20-30% vs 25-35% of industrial machinery, tools, construction equipment
20-30% vs 30-40% of semiconductors, circuits, etc.
Energy
Only 2 to 2.5% of US oil needs shipped through the Red Sea before the crisis. And Europe? As much as 80-90% of its 30-35% MENA-sourced imports.
95% of US natural gas needs are met domestically, with Qatar selling 1% of the remainder, having to reroute these exports away from the Red Sea. And Europe? 20% of its LNG imports are Gulf country-sourced, 100% of them going through the Red Sea before the crisis.
Thanks to the dual crises in the Middle East and Ukraine, US oil exports to Europe jumped from 1.8-2.2 million bpd in 2023-2024, while LNG exports grew from 1.07-1.2 trillion cubic feet, and US market share up from 35-45%.
So really, why should the US “bail out” the Europeans, as Vance put it, by launching aggression against Yemen?