Logistics & warehousing
How to start a freight forwarding company in Dubai
Freight forwarding is a commercial licence. Customs clearance is a separate licensed activity and transport with your own vehicles is a third — most forwarders need at least two.
The market
What the sector actually looks like.
The UAE logistics market is estimated around USD 65bn in 2025, forecast to roughly USD 112bn by 2035. Jebel Ali handled 15.5 million TEU in 2024, and Dubai accounts for about 39% of national logistics activity. Road freight represents roughly 46% of the market.
Figures on this page
UAE logistics market estimated around USD 65bn in 2025, forecast to roughly USD 112bn by 2035 (5.5% CAGR). Jebel Ali handled 15.5 million TEU in 2024. Road freight accounts for about 46% of the market and Dubai for about 39%.
Market research aggregates and DP World reporting, 2024–25
How the business actually makes money
A margin business on other people's cargo. Buy rates from carriers against sell rates to shippers, with the spread compressed by transparency and by shippers who quote multiple forwarders. Volume commitments improve buy rates, which is why scale matters disproportionately. Credit is the risk: you pay the carrier before the shipper pays you, and a single default on a large shipment can take out a small forwarder.
Why here
Regional advantages
World-class port and airport infrastructure
Jebel Ali at 15.5m TEU, plus two major cargo airports. The physical infrastructure is genuinely best in class.
Established as a regional consolidation hub
Cargo naturally routes through here for redistribution, so the volume exists without you creating it.
Free zone customs suspension
Goods can enter, be consolidated and leave without duty, which makes re-export operations efficient.
And the other side
Regional disadvantages
Rate transparency compresses margin
Digital freight platforms have made buy rates visible. Differentiation on price alone is not available.
Credit exposure to shippers
You pay carriers on terms and collect from customers later. Credit control is existential for a small forwarder.
Four separate activities
Forwarding, warehousing, customs clearance and transport are distinct licences. Quoting door-to-door on one of them is a liability exposed at claim time.
Why this is different
Not just logistics & warehousing.
You take on liability for cargo you do not own. Freight liability insurance and correctly worded terms of trading matter more here than in most trades.
Approvals beyond the trade licence
Trade licence naming freight forwarding, customs client code, customs broker registration if clearing in your own name, and transport authority approval for owned fleet.
Where to license it
The logistics & warehousing activity in full · The general setup guide
Questions
A commercial licence naming freight forwarding, plus a customs client code. Customs brokerage in your own name and operating a vehicle fleet are separate activities requiring their own permissions.
Margins are thin and compressed by rate transparency. Profitability comes from volume-driven buy rates and disciplined credit control rather than from pricing.
JAFZA for sea freight through Jebel Ali, DAFZA or Dubai South for air, SAIF Zone where warehousing cost matters more than adjacency.
One question
Who will be paying your invoices?
Textbook free zone. Re-export through JAFZA, SAIF or KEZAD without the goods entering the domestic market is exactly what customs suspension was designed for, and the duty saving is real.
Compare the two routesOr just ask usDomestic distribution and last-mile delivery are mainland transport activities requiring emirate transport authority permits. A free zone licence covers the international leg and stops at the zone gate.
Compare the two routesOr just ask usMost forwarders end up with both — a free zone entity for the international movement and a mainland partner or branch for domestic distribution. Structuring that deliberately beats discovering it.
Answer five questions insteadOr just ask us