Shipping Costs to the Gulf Rise Fivefold as Sea Routes Are Disrupted
Key Facts
The cost of transporting goods to the Gulf has risen to between three and five times previous levels following disruption to sea routes, according to the Emirates Shipping Association, in a report carried by Gulf News on 2 October 2026. The association said the increase includes shipping costs and associated charges, much of it due to surcharges and rerouting costs. The rise puts the cost of bringing goods into the region at the forefront of logistical pressures facing shipping companies. An earlier draft included a figure for an increase in truck demand, but that figure did not appear in the sources available for verification. There is also no direct statement confirming the extent of the rise in road transport costs or linking it solely to Red Sea threats.
The vice chairman of the National Shipping Association said road transport costs had also risen, while the report said goods arriving in Sohar or Salalah can be trucked to destinations in the UAE, including Jebel Ali. This overland route gives importers an option for moving goods after they arrive at ports outside the UAE. Expeditors also offers road transport services across Gulf Cooperation Council countries from Jeddah, Sohar, Salalah and active UAE ports. The company said unloading containers in Khor Fakkan and then trucking them to GCC countries is an available option. These routes show how alternative ports can connect to the regional road transport network.
Expeditors warned that shifting freight flows and the repositioning of equipment by land service providers continue to put pressure on prices across regions. The company said congestion at Jeddah port had led several carriers to limit or suspend deliveries to the Upper Gulf via the land bridge. It said Khor Fakkan and Fujairah remain alternatives. Congestion constrains the option of transporting goods through Jeddah, even as road services from other ports remain available. In its update dated 30 September, the company said overland delays around Jeddah remained at 10 to 12 days after cargo was unloaded.
Transport pressures come amid broader disruption to shipping through sea corridors. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said traffic through the Panama and Suez canals had fallen by more than half by mid-2024 compared with its peak. Tonnage transiting the Gulf of Aden also fell 76%, and that transiting the Suez Canal fell 70%, compared with late 2023. The organization linked the rerouting of ships away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to a 3% increase in global demand for ships and a 12% increase for container ships by June 2024, compared with what would have occurred without the route changes. These figures show the scale of pressure longer routes can put on shipping capacity, while regional road transport costs remain tied to operating factors and direct rates.
Bab el-Mandeb remains part of the shifting maritime risk picture. The strait connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, and 12% of global trade passes through it, according to an Associated Press report on 5 October. In the same report, a Houthi military spokesman said the group had targeted King Khalid International Airport and an oil refinery in Rabigh. A coalition spokesman said 100 fighter jets had supported government forces, and that the coalition had secured air protection for the strait and destroyed hundreds of Houthi targets. Later, in a report on the Strait of Hormuz, the agency said oil tankers continued to transit under U.S. military protection, citing data and analysis from Lloyd’s List Intelligence. These developments place security risks within a changing picture, without on their own proving the cause of higher road transport costs to the Gulf.
Freight rates for oil tankers have also risen. S&P Global Energy said rates for very large crude carriers had increased since the start of the war by 274% on the Brazil-to-Asia route and 260% on the U.S. Gulf-to-Asia route, attributing the gains to route disruption and risk premiums. The company said the average daily number of transits through the Strait of Hormuz was 21 in September 2026, compared with 135 before the war. It added that shipping companies had begun avoiding Bab el-Mandeb because of Houthi attacks. Analysts, according to the report, expected tanker rates to continue rising as the winter demand season approached and tensions persisted. These indicators provide context for the broader shipping market, while Expeditors’ update gave no timetable for easing delays around Jeddah.