NEWS & BLOG
Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-03-16 Origin: Site
“I called two friends in Iran, but no one answered,” described a top Chinese cross-border seller with annual revenue of over 1 billion yuan from the Middle East market. Meanwhile, freight forwarders have urgently notified clients: “Empty containers first, stop loading cargo—situation remains uncertain.”
Amid pervasive uncertainty, cross-border e-commerce platforms have acted fast. Logistics data platform 17Track shows estimated delivery time for Temu’s Middle East routes has stretched from 15 days to up to 20 days; Shein’s delivery window has been adjusted from 5–8 days to 8–10 days. Both platforms have suspended new inbound shipments from China to the Middle East, pending regional stability.
Middle East consumers are already feeling the pain of delays. Local media surveys confirm widespread complaints of late deliveries, rescheduled shipments, and even order cancellations for purchases on Shein, Temu, and AliExpress.
Amazon’s Middle East disruptions are even more severe. AFP reports the retailer has extended delivery times by at least 10 days, with some items facing 35–45 day wait times. Worse still, three AWS data centers in the UAE and Bahrain were damaged in drone strikes, causing massive cloud service outages affecting Careem and local banks. Amazon has closed its Abu Dhabi fulfillment center and fully suspended local delivery services.
Major international express carriers have been hit hard: UPS, FedEx, and DHL have issued alerts, halting pickup and delivery services across most Middle Eastern countries due to mass commercial flight cancellations, with severe delays for in-transit parcels.
SF International has also announced a temporary suspension of express and e-commerce services to multiple Middle Eastern countries, citing heightened geopolitical risks and disrupted flight capacity. The suspension will impact China-Middle East cross-border trade, with resumption timings to be announced later.
Ocean shipping is not fully suspended, but faces crippling cost and timeline pressures. CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC, and other top carriers have halted Middle East bookings and imposed emergency conflict and war risk surcharges. Maersk has rerouted all vessels via the Cape of Good Hope, drastically extending voyage times.
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Facing blocked Middle East logistics channels, suspended platform inbounding, halted express services, and soaring ocean costs, shippers and forwarders must stay vigilant and monitor official updates closely.
It is recommended to communicate proactively with customers, re-evaluate order fulfillment cycles, adjust shipment plans rationally, track in-transit cargo status, and prepare contingency plans for delays or rerouting. Assess current transportation costs and risk exposure carefully to avoid heavy losses. Temporarily halt shipments to high-risk areas until the situation clears to protect overall supply chain stability.
