Shipping companies and regional logistics operators are increasingly turning to truck and rail corridors across the Arabian Peninsula as the continuing closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupts cargo movements into the Gulf.
The shift is driving a sharp increase in traffic through Saudi Arabia and Oman, where infrastructure projects originally designed for regional trade diversification are now being used as strategic alternatives to maritime routes affected by the crisis.
One of the main beneficiaries has been Saudi-Oman Route 95, which links the Saudi border crossing at Salwa with Oman through the Shaybah oilfield and the Ramlet Khelah border crossing. Opened in 2023 after years of construction through the Empty Quarter desert, the route significantly shortens transit times by avoiding longer diversions through the UAE.
According to Omani authorities, cargo volumes crossing through Ramlet Khelah surged in recent months, with the value of transported goods reportedly rising from around $300 million in February to approximately $830 million in March. Cargoes moving along the corridor include fertilizers, food products, medicines, machinery, and construction materials.
Regional trucking companies are also seeing a sharp rise in demand. Operators report that increased cargo flows linked to Gulf shipping disruptions have rapidly transformed the route into one of the region’s key logistics corridors.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia is accelerating efforts to strengthen inland freight connections between the Red Sea and Gulf coasts. Saudi Arabian Railways is expanding freight corridors linking industrial and logistics hubs including Dammam, Jubail, Ras Al Khair, Riyadh, and Red Sea ports.
Shipping lines are also adapting service structures to combine maritime and overland transport. MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is preparing new multimodal services routing cargo from Europe into Red Sea ports before transferring containers by truck across Saudi Arabia for onward feeder distribution into Gulf destinations. Hapag-Lloyd is also developing alternative inland routing options through Saudi Arabia and Oman.
The rapid reconfiguration of supply chains is placing pressure on regional transport infrastructure. Industry participants cite shortages of trucks and drivers as an immediate bottleneck, while ports increasingly used as substitute gateways – including Fujairah, Khor Fakkan, Sohar, and Salalah – are facing growing capacity constraints.
Khor Fakkan and Fujairah remain significantly smaller than Jebel Ali in terms of throughput capacity, while Omani hubs such as Sohar and Salalah are handling increased cargo volumes as shipping companies seek alternatives outside the Strait of Hormuz.
The disruption is also accelerating broader regional logistics integration plans that had previously focused on long-term diversification away from traditional Gulf shipping chokepoints. Analysts say the current situation is effectively stress-testing the Arabian Peninsula’s overland transport network on a scale not previously seen in commercial operations.
