A massive container vessel named the Ever Given is blocking an important international waterway, the Suez Canal, and it could have a huge impact on PS5 and Xbox Series X and Series S stock.
This 400 metre-long container vessel has been blocking the shipping passage since Tuesday. No other ships can get past, causing further delays in the transport of consumer products. Next-gen consoles were already hard to come by, and this won't make it any easier.
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PS5 and Xbox Series X delays
According to experts (via Yahoo Finance), the Suez Canal sees around 30% of global container traffic. As efforts to free the containment vessel could take a few weeks, investors are predicting up to 15% of world container shipments will be affected.
Container shipping expert Lars Jensen states that everything from food, furniture, clothes, shoes, exercise equipment, electronics, car parts and carpets could be affected. Not only that, but we could see a big impact on PS5, Xbox Series X, and other consumer tech stocks, which are already in scarce supply.
The Suez Canal is the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia (shown here), meaning this disrupted trade route may bring further shortages to all manner of consumer products. You may have to wait a little longer for those UK PS5 restocks.
According to the article, the Suez Canal is also a preferred route for U.S. importers. However, it's mainly used for goods such as footwear and apparel from Southeast Asia and India, but seeing as the Ever Given is blocking many shipments, it could delay tech supplies, too.
"Very high consumer and industrial demand, a global shortage of container capacity and low service reliability from global container shipping companies... has made supply chains highly vulnerable to even the smallest of external shocks. The timing of this event could not have been worse," said analysts at Moody's Investors Service in the article.
Hundreds of ships at either side of the blockage are now stuck and are trying to reroute, according to a post on The Guardian. Of course, the main concern of the disrupted trade route is the oil and natural gas shipments that can't pass through. However, seeing as many semiconductor shortages are already causing a global supply chain crisis (as Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon states), this certainly doesn't help.
While we may be in for even further next-gen console delays (and then some), we often cover the latest PS5 restocks or Xbox Series X restocks. What's the harm in checking every now and again?
