DP World has moved 500,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) across the Gulf by road and rail since March, as the Dubai-based logistics giant leans on overland networks to keep goods flowing through the region.
The company's road and rail operations now support around 3,000 truck movements a day, a scale made possible after DP World added 700 trucks to its fleet this year. That expansion gives it capacity for up to 35,000 truck trips a month, aimed at both cross-border and domestic freight within the GCC.
Why the overland push matters
Much of this growth has come in response to disruption in maritime shipping routes. More than 350,000 TEUs have moved overland as a direct result, with DP World routing cargo through alternative paths rather than relying solely on sea freight.
One of those alternatives runs through the Red Sea corridor, where DP World has used Jeddah Islamic Port's South Container Terminal to keep goods moving when traditional routes have been constrained.
On the domestic and regional front, DP World has launched fast-track bonded corridors connecting east coast gateways to Jebel Ali Port, its flagship hub in Dubai. It has also set up a bonded corridor originating in Sohar, Oman, linking the two countries' trade networks more directly and cutting the friction typically associated with cross-border customs processes.
Fujairah expansion and wider investment
Beyond the road and rail push, DP World is preparing to develop two new terminals in Fujairah under a 50-year concession, adding to its footprint on the UAE's east coast, which sits outside the Strait of Hormuz and offers an alternative gateway for regional trade.
The overland and terminal investments sit within a broader spending pattern. DP World put $1.5 billion into its global portfolio during the first half of the year, and it expects to invest close to $3 billion in 2026, signalling that the current expansion in the GCC is part of a sustained, multi-year build-out rather than a one-off response to shipping disruptions.
For businesses moving goods in and out of the UAE and the wider Gulf, the practical effect is more flexibility when sea routes are unreliable. Road and rail corridors linking ports like Jebel Ali, Sohar and the Fujairah terminals give shippers a way to keep cargo moving even when maritime shipping faces delays or rerouting, a dynamic that has become more relevant given the volumes already shifted through Jeddah's South Container Terminal and the Red Sea alternative route.
DP World has not detailed how the 500,000 TEU figure breaks down between the different corridors, but the scale of truck deployment—3,000 movements daily and monthly capacity for 35,000 trips—points to overland freight becoming a structural part of how the company manages regional trade, not simply a temporary workaround.