Prime Highlights: 

This country’s logistics market increased 267% since 2021, and at this point in 2024, there are already 22 logistic centers, with 34 million square meters for its occupation. 

The highest number of logistics hubs are in the Eastern Province and the largest area is the Makkah region, accounting for 20 million square meters. 

Key Background: 

Statistics indicate that by the end of 2024, the country had upped its logistic centers number by 267% from the one recorded in 2021. This means that as of 2024, the Kingdom already had 22 logistics hubs that covered more than 34 million square meters simply to reflect the vision of the nation about being the logistic powerhouse of the region under Vision 2030. 

The Eastern Province had the highest number of logistics centers, with six hubs covering 6.3 million square meters. However, the Makkah region occupied the largest area, with five centers spanning 20 million square meters. Riyadh followed with five centers, covering approximately 4.9 million square meters. 

Besides logistic centers, by the end of 2024, the Kingdom hosted 12,451 warehouses spread over 22.8 million square meters. According to this metric, 52.9% corresponded to the share from Riyadh province. The latter was followed by Makkah at 17.9%, and 14.3% shared from the Eastern Province. 

It also indicated that the logistic capacity of the kingdom grows in general warehouses, humidity-controlled, and refrigerated warehouses. Marine transport continues to lead cargo movements by 308.7 million tonnes by 2024. On land, it was at 24.9 million, rail at 14.3 million, and air transport at 918,000 tonnes. 

As far as infrastructure for logistics is concerned, much investment through Vision 2030 is going into the improvement of land, sea, and air cargo capacity for the Saudi country. In fact, in 2024, the Saudi Ports Authority invested $4.5 billion. Altogether, the country is all set to take up nearly 55 percent of the market of Gulf Cooperation Council in logistics. This is expected to rise to $38.8 billion by 2026, thus bringing an appreciable increase in its non-oil exports. 

The growth in the country’s warehousing sector is also evident, with a record national warehouse occupancy rate of 97% in mid-2024. This expansion is largely driven by digital transformation, as advancements in customs processes and freight transport continue to reshape the industry.