{"id":677887,"date":"2025-12-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/?post_type=hardhat&p=677887"},"modified":"2025-12-24T12:11:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T12:11:00","slug":"planes-trains-and-automobiles-were-the-drivers-of-the-logistics-sector-as-the-suez-canal-took-a-back-seat-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"hardhat","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/hardhats\/planes-trains-and-automobiles-were-the-drivers-of-the-logistics-sector-as-the-suez-canal-took-a-back-seat-in-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Planes, trains, and automobiles were the drivers of the logistics sector, as the Suez Canal took a back seat in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

2025 was a chaotic year for the logistics sector, but it also pushed the <\/strong>sector to pivot from collecting rents from the Suez Canal to sweating the assets of a real logistics network. <\/strong>We entered the year hoping for a rebound in the canal \u2014 but rather than waiting, the market adapted, shifting its attention to 2026 to other areas of the sector.<\/p>\n

\n

While the canal stalled, the wider port network sprinted<\/p>\n

East Port Said emerged as a<\/strong><\/a><\/strong>global superstar<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 ranking third globally in the Container Port Performance Index. That efficiency turned into investment \u2014 with new projects, including a USD 500 mn expansion led by Maersk, a USD 159 mn ro-ro terminal, and a USD 65 mn multipurpose terminal.<\/p>\n

As for the canal, the fiscal year was a masterclass in subtraction. <\/strong>Revenues fell 45.5% to<\/a>USD 3.6 bn<\/a> in the 12-month period ending June, net tonnage was cut in half and vessel transits fell 38.5%. But between July and early December, the recovery<\/a> began to take shape. Revenues climbed 17.5% y-o-y to USD 2.0 bn, with traffic ticking up 5.2%.<\/p>\n

Why the shift? It\u2019s not just sentiment \u2014 it\u2019s the ins. premiums.<\/strong> The dip in war risk ins. covering ships braving the Red Sea is another cause for optimism \u2014 with rates falling by some 70% compared to mid-2024 prices. That drop could change the calculus for shipping CFOs, making the Red Sea route financially viable again for the first time in months.<\/p>\n

The question everyone is asking \u2014 how serious are ships about returning to the Red <\/strong>Sea? <\/strong>Major shipping giants dipped their toes into Red Sea waters this month, with France\u2019s CMA CGM rerouting its India America Express service and a Maersk ship transiting the strait<\/a> for the first time in two years.<\/p>\n

\n

Privatization is finally boarding, and it is more than just a single tender<\/p>\n

After years of speculation, the state has moved from theory to execution on airport <\/strong>management.<\/strong> While the immediate news is the Hurghada International Airport tender<\/a>, the real story is the policy precedent it sets. With the IFC advising on a program that covers 11 airports<\/a>, the government is effectively building a new asset class for private operators. Local capital is already positioning itself for this shift, evidenced by Naguib Sawiris forming a consortium<\/a> with Italian partners to bid for Hurghada, with an eye already trained on future tenders in Luxor and Sohag.<\/p>\n

\n

Value-add is replacing storage as the dominant logistics model<\/p>\n

The launch of new bonded zone models signifies a move away from simple warehousing <\/strong>toward complex distribution. <\/strong>Transcargo International\u2019s establishment of Egypt\u2019s first customs-licensed, port-based distribution center<\/a> at Adabiya Port is the prototype for this shift, promising to drive a 20% jump in re-exports. This isn't an isolated experiment, with DHL Express plugging EUR 24 mn<\/a> into its largest in-country distribution center \u2014 confirming that multinational players are banking on Egypt functioning as a regional sorting hat, not just a destination market.<\/p>\n

\n

The great freight shift is about software, not just hardware<\/p>\n

The narrative on rail freight has long been about laying track, but 2025 saw the <\/strong>conversation shift to reliability and service.<\/strong> The government\u2019s push to boost capacity by 63%<\/a> is being underpinned by a massive hardware upgrade \u2014 including the ENR-Salcef JV renovating 300 km of track annually<\/a> and Progress Rail\u2019s locomotive program<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But the true turning point was the entry of private operators like G3A and Transmar,<\/strong> who launched the first fixed-schedule rail freight service<\/a>. The industry challenge has now evolved from \"can we move it?\" to \"can we move it on time?\" as operators work to break the market's addiction to trucking.<\/p>\n

\n

We are seeing the emergence of a truly integrated corridor network<\/p>\n

Progress is no longer defined by isolated projects but by the connectivity between them.<\/strong> Of the seven designated logistics corridors, five saw tangible movement<\/a> this year, linking production centers to export gateways. <\/p>\n

This network effect is visible across the board<\/strong> \u2014 from Alstom\u2019s investments<\/a> along the Sokhna-Alexandria and Cairo-Alexandria routes<\/a> to the Dry Ports Authority allocating land on the Arish-Taba line. Even in the emerging zones, such as Gargoub-Salloum and Safaga-Qena, the simultaneous arrival of terminal investments and private logistics players like Beit Logistics suggests<\/a> the state is successfully selling the \"corridor\" concept to investors, even if the Cairo-Aswan and Tanta-Mansoura lines remain the laggards of the system.<\/p>\n

The outlook for 2026 is priced for a rebound.<\/strong> The sector is entering the new year with a clear roadmap. The Suez Canal Authority is officially bullish, forecasting revenues<\/a> to hit USD 8 bn in FY 2026-27, while the release of a comprehensive investment map for all Egyptian ports next year signals a coordinated effort to market these assets globally. The industry consensus is coalescing around 1Q 2026 as the pivot point<\/a>, where the combination of lower ins. premiums, easing regional tensions, and new capacity will likely trigger the volume recovery everyone has been waiting for.<\/p>\n

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links <\/strong>to our background as well as external sources.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We entered the year hoping for a rebound in the canal \u2014 but rather than waiting, the market adapted, shifting its attention to 2026 to other areas of the sector<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":677888,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[7235],"tags":[72,7116,7111,145,8835,7101,7103],"class_list":["post-677887","hardhat","type-hardhat","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hardhat","tag-enterpriseam","tag-hardhat","tag-infrastructure","tag-logistics","tag-maritime","tag-railways","tag-suez-canal","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"c0a04037-e41f-4902-a87f-abf9ae144542","order":"14","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"2","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2025\/5\/452.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"Planes, trains, and automobiles were the drivers of the logistics sector, as the Suez Canal took a back seat in 2025","related_issue":[677862],"teaser":"We entered the year hoping for a rebound in the canal \u2014 but rather than waiting, the market adapted, shifting its attention to 2026 to other areas of the sector"},"yoast_head":"\nPlanes, trains, and automobiles were the drivers of the logistics sector, as the Suez Canal took a back seat in 2025 - 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