Middle East Logistics Heads North

Despite recent problems in Dubai, foundations are in place for buoyant growth once the global economy recovers, reports the study, which examines air, sea, road, and rail industries throughout the Gulf. Middle Eastern countries have invested in and built out transportation infrastructure that will allow the region to optimize its location as a regional transshipment hub.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The World Bank recently identified the country as the best-performing logistics hot spot in the Gulf, ranking 24th in the financial institute's biennial Logistics Performance Index. UAE is followed by Bahrain (32), Kuwait (36), Saudi Arabia (40), Qatar (55), and Oman (60).

Aside from its transport infrastructure -- which includes Jebel Ali Port and UAE's three main airports -- the World Bank study also cites the country's favorable proximity to a market of four billion people within eight hours by air.

Still, as Transport Intelligence points out, the oil-rich region has its problems. One example: Abu Dhabi had to bail out Dubai following the collapse of its construction and real estate markets.

Regional reciprocity has been visible elsewhere in the Middle East as less-developed countries, such as Egypt and Jordan, capitalize on the benefits that port and airport development have brought to the economies of their ambitious neighbors.