Türkiye seeing surge in overland freight, DP World reports

DP World has reported that companies are increasingly routing cargo through Türkiye to reach Gulf markets amid geopolitical uncertainty and disruption to traditional shipping routes.

Speaking at the 5th Türkiye Maritime Summit in Istanbul, Abdulla Al Hashmi, global chief operating officer for Parks & Economic Zones at DP World, said businesses are increasingly combining sea and overland transport to reduce transit times and improve resilience.

“We are seeing a significant increase in the amount of freight moving through Türkiye as companies use the country as a corridor to move goods into Gulf markets,” he said. “This trend spans multiple sectors and is taking place in both directions – from Europe into the Gulf, and from the Far East through Türkiye and onward.”

DP World said it is already supporting customers in the automotive, consumer goods and industrial manufacturing sectors through a multimodal corridor combining maritime and road transport. The company claims the service can reduce transit times between Europe and Gulf markets from around 55 days by sea to between 22 and 29 days.

According to Al Hashmi, continued investment in ports, freight forwarding, contract logistics, rail connectivity and road infrastructure is reinforcing Türkiye’s role as a strategic logistics hub linking Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

DP World has invested more than US$600 million (c. £450m) in Türkiye. In 2024, it combined its Yarımca and Körfez terminals to create DP World Evyap, the country’s second-largest port operator. It has also linked its terminal directly to the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail corridor and the wider Silk Road network.

“In a world of disruption, connectivity is a competitive advantage. In a world of uncertainty, integration is strength. In a world that is becoming more complex by the day, Türkiye has a chance to become even more central to the flow of global trade,” Al Hashmi concluded.