Gulf Landbridge Trucking Rates Skyrocket 4–5x as Container Supply Chains Buckle Under Hormuz Closure

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed to most commercial traffic since late February 2026, Middle East Landbridge solutions have emerged as the primary lifeline for containers destined for GCC markets — but they are now buckling under the weight of that demand.

According to sources, demand for road freight capacity from Jeddah reached a point where it was four to five times greater than available supply. Trucking rates from Jeddah to Jebel Ali, which before the outbreak of conflict had hovered at around Riyal 4,000 (approximately $1,066), surged to between Riyal 18,000 and Riyal 21,000 — an increase of between 4x and 5x.

The key alternative routing hubs are Jeddah on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, Khor Fakkan in the UAE, and Oman’s Salalah. However, with both Khor Fakkan and Salalah having come under Iranian missile attack, Jeddah has become the de facto safest option for ships to dock. This has concentrated enormous demand pressure on a single port and its inland road network, leading to what one local Jeddah source described as ‘crazy prices being paid for transportation.’

Major carriers including Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have established landbridge solutions to route cargo from these ports into the UAE and wider GCC through Saudi Arabia.
The Landbridge squeeze is the latest symptom of a shipping crisis that has seen just 21 tankers transit the Strait of Hormuz since the war began on 28 February 2026, compared with more than 100 ships daily before the conflict, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.