Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/28/2013 -- Kuwait's ports have struggled to recover the volumes they enjoyed prior to the global economic downturn, but BMI expects recovery to have been completed by 2013, and that growth will continue over the medium term. If there are continued instances of industrial unrest and strikes, however, as Kuwait's ports have struggled with since the Arab Spring of 2011, then we may have to revise our forecasts down. The air freight sector was also hit in 2011, with volumes falling, and we estimate that 2012 also saw a decline. In 2013, we forecast that air freight cargo at Kuwait International Airport will return to growth, albeit at a sedate pace over our forecast period.

What continues to bode well for Kuwait's freight transport is our macroeconomic outlook for the country. Oil prices remain elevated, and this is translating into spending by the Kuwaiti government and greater wealth among the populous. This is attracting logistics companies to add services to the country. Kuwaiti logistics company Agility continues to develop rapidly.

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Headline Industry Data

- 2013 Port of Shuaiba tonnage throughput growth forecast at 4.0% and to average 5.3% to 2017.
- 2013 Kuwait International Airport air freight tonnage forecast to grow by 1.8% and to average growth of 1.4% a year to 2017.
- 2013 total trade real growth forecast at 1.0% and to average 2.4% to 2017.

Key Industry Trends

Iraq Launches Flights To Kuwait: Iraq's state airline, Iraqi Airways, launched the country's first flight to Kuwait on February 27, ending a freeze that lasted more than 22 years. The first symbolic flight carried Iraq's foreign and transport ministers who were greeted by Kuwaiti officials upon landing. Flights between the two neighbours were stopped when former dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990.

Tensions Over New Ports Likely To Resurface: Kuwait's new port development on Bubiyan Island is moving on apace, with most of the first phase of dock walls now complete. We continue to caution that there is a glut of new maritime facilities currently under development in the Gulf region, and that tensions with neighbouring Iraq, also constructing a new port, might simmer to the surface again as the two ports come online.

GCC Logistics Market Valued at US$27bn In 2012: The logistics market of the GCC, which is comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, is valued at US$27bn. Analysts expected the entire Middle Eastern market to grow at an annual rate of 10% in 2012 to US$35mn.

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