The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab state in Western Asia, occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula, and is geographically the second-largest country in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia is the world’s second-largest oil producer and largest exporter, and controls the world’s second-largest hydrocarbon reserves. While it is oil-rich, the country’s arid geography means that it must import many goods; thus, to export from the US to Saudi Arabia makes good business sense.
The kingdom is considered a high-income economy and is highly developed, and it is the only Arab country to be part of the G-20 major economies. Its primary imports include cars, refined petroleum, and packaged pharmaceuticals. China, the US, and Germany are its three biggest trading partners. Saudi Arabia is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Its high economic profile and increasing openness mean that many entrepreneurs are interested in equipping themselves to export from the US to Saudi Arabia.
If you are shipping cargo to Saudi Arabia, there are two options available to you: you may choose a full container load (FCL) or groupage (less-than-container load, or LCL).
A 20-foot shipping container will accommodate up to 10 standard pallets, while a 40-foot container can carry 22 standard pallets. If the volume of your shipment takes up at least half a container, then you are considered to have a full container load (FCL).
The other circumstance in which FCL is your optimal choice is if you need to isolate your merchandise from other exporters’ goods during shipping.
If this is not a concern, then groupage - a shared container (LCL) - can offer you an economical alternative. When you share a container, you pay only for the shipping space you use. Consult iContainers for rates and other important details.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ports Authority manages the country’s ports.
The port of Jeddah is perfectly located at the conjunction of many international shipping routes between East and West. It is the country’s principal port. The port of Jeddah, whose harbor is congestion-free, covers 6.5 square miles, and its deep-water quays provide almost seven miles of space to accommodate its 58 berths. Its maximum depth is over 50 feet. The port can accommodate container ships of capacities up to 6,500 TEUs.
King Abdul Aziz Port, Dammam, is the principal port of Saudi Arabia on the Gulf. The port is well-placed to service the needs of the oil industry, the development of Riyadh, and the major provincial cities in the country’s eastern and central provinces. The whole port covers an area of approximately 633 million square feet. Thirty-nine berths handle a wide variety of cargo, and vast warehouse space is available.
Riyadh’s Dry Port allows importers in the central region to receive cargo through King Abdul Aziz port in Dammam at by train. This dry port handles over 250,000 TEUs annually, transported by rail from and to Dammam.
iContainers provides efficient and professional ocean freight services to Saudi Arabia from a whole range of ports located in all parts of the world. These include those located in:
For more information, consult ship container rates for your ocean freight to Saudi Arabia here.