How Landlocked Countries Overcome Freight Challenges

Sea freight is the most common and cost-effective way to ship large consignments. However, there are a few countries around the world that lack a coastline, which poses a profound geographical challenge for a country in international trade. These countries are called landlocked, meaning their borders are land-based and have no direct access to the sea or a port. There are currently 44 landlocked countries in the world, and this geographical obstacle leads to higher transportation costs, longer transit times and challenging logistical networks, but with strategic partnerships across the world, digital innovation and robust infrastructure, these nations connect to the global market through resilient supply chains.

Landlocked means higher costs

Any landlocked country is highly dependent on its neighbouring transit countries to access international ports and markets, but this comes with high costs:

Steep transport costs: The transportation cost is quite steep, it’s around 1.4 times higher than that of coastal countries.

Administrative burdens: As the consignments must pass through multiple customs regulations, this adds to additional paperwork and causes delays. Corruption at the border might also add to the unofficial costs.

Reliance on neighbours: Being highly dependent on coastal neighbouring countries might cause numerous issues, such as any conflict or instability due to political reasons, which can severely impact the trade routes.

Challenges faced by landlocked countries

Landlocked countries don’t have a coastline; hence, sea freight shipping is not possible. Air shipment is an alternative, but it isn’t cost-effetive when it comes to heavy or large shipments. The only viable is to depend on neighbouring countries for sea port access, followed by rail and road. While practical, this approach has its own challenges, which include:

• To finalise the best seaport entry point among multiple possible routes that should be cost-effective and timely
• Managing multiple customs regulations and clearances, starting from sea port country through land borders to the final destination
• Arranging road and rail transportation, sometimes handled by freight forwarding, but not always
• Container returns might get extended, leading to detention and demurrage charges
• Risks from political and border conflicts

Digital freight forwarders like 20Cube Logistics have expertise in understanding such complex challenges and are always on the go to help customers in getting their shipments across borders, through sea, air and inland transportation.

Strategies to break out of the geographic trap

With support from experienced freight forwarders like 20Cube Logistics, landlocked countries can turn geographic constraints into strategic opportunities through:

Multimodal Transport: Opting for multimodal transport helps in moving goods efficiently to and from ports in transit countries, where one can make use of road and rail transport for faster movement of cargo.

Road and rail networks: The expansion of road and rail networks is significant for moving goods, and projects like the Northern Corridor in East Africa have helped in reducing border crossing times between Kenya and Uganda.

Dry ports: Building of inland terminals or dry ports functions as hubs for cargo consolidation and customs clearance, helping boost trade.

Nurturing strong regional partnerships: Strengthening cooperation with neighbouring countries is essential for the smooth cargo movement.

Trade and transit agreements: Bilateral agreements become significant to simplify customs and smooth transit routes.

Adapting to tech: With digital tools, streamlining cross-border trade processes is smooth and reduces costs.

The challenges of being a landlocked country are real, but they aren’t undefeatable. With strategic planning, strong regional partnerships, an expert team and a digital tool like MyHub, moving consignment via sea, air, rail and roads becomes seamless. What is seen as a geographical disadvantage can, in fact, be a competitive advantage in the global freight landscape.