Congestion at Asian ports and the crises affecting the Middle Eastern straits are slowing global container shipments to such an extent that even a terminal operator such as DP World has decided to move directly into managing maritime shipments. It is not doing so with its own vessels, but with less-than-container-load shipments along the corridor linking Asia, Europe and the United States. The company announced the move on 27 August 2026, saying the initial launch covers two express services: Asia-US, calling at Los Angeles, and Europe-US, operating in both directions between the consolidation ports of Antwerp, Southampton and Cork and the gateways of Chester, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, North Carolina. The initiative comes ahead of the autumn peak season and is aimed at shippers moving smaller volumes who need greater predictability than traditional maritime transport can provide, without incurring the costs of air freight.
The Asia-US corridor links the main manufacturing hubs of China, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia with Los Angeles, from where goods continue with direct inland delivery to any commercial address in the United States through DP World’s logistics network. The Europe-US corridor includes final distribution in Europe and the United States. Departures are weekly on both routes, with declared door-to-door transit times of 16 to 24 days for Asia-US and 18 to 24 days for Europe-US. The service offered by the Arab company includes consolidation at Container Freight Stations, routing and inland transport in a single end-to-end package covering collection, the maritime leg, deconsolidation and final delivery.
