Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does a logistics and freight services business do?
A logistics and freight services business arranges, coordinates, documents, and handles the movement of goods in transit, acting as the coordination layer between shippers and carriers.
2. What is freight forwarding?
Freight forwarding is the forwarding of freight and the arranging and organising of transport operations by rail, road, sea, and air on behalf of clients.
3. What does customs and transport documentation involve?
It covers the activities of customs agents and the issue and procurement of transport documents and waybills for goods moving into and out of the UAE.
4. Who uses logistics and freight services?
Importers and exporters, manufacturers moving raw materials and finished goods, e-commerce businesses, and other logistics firms needing a forwarding partner use these services.
5. How large is the UAE freight and logistics market?
The UAE freight and logistics market was valued at USD 23.05 billion in 2026 and is forecast to reach USD 31.63 billion by 2031.
How to Start a Logistics and Freight Services Business with Meydan Free Zone
A freight forwarder owns no ships, no aircraft, and often no trucks. What it owns is the ability to move a container from a factory in one country to a warehouse in another, through customs, across modes, and on schedule. Logistics and freight services is the coordination layer of global trade, and in the UAE it sits on top of one of the busiest trade corridors in the world.
The UAE freight and logistics market was valued at USD 23.05 billion in 2026 and is forecast to reach USD 31.63 billion by 2031, growing at a 6.55 percent compound annual rate, according to Mordor Intelligence¹. Freight transport accounted for the largest share of that market in 2025 at 53.35 percent, while the freight forwarding segment, the arrangement and coordination of shipments, is forecast to grow at over 7 percent a year, according to Coherent Market Insights².
The market rests on the UAE's position on the trade corridor connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe, and on a port and airport network built to move goods at scale.
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The Coordination Layer of UAE Trade
Trade does not move itself. Behind every container that clears a UAE port sits a chain of forwarding, documentation, customs, and handling decisions, and that chain is a market in its own right.
Sources: Mordor Intelligence (2026); Coherent Market Insights (2025).
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The demand sits on top of constant trade volume. The UAE is a re-export hub, a manufacturing base, and one of the busiest cargo gateways between three continents, which means goods are always arriving, being grouped, cleared, and sent onward. Behind that flow is a wide client base: importers and exporters that do not handle their own shipping, manufacturers moving raw materials and finished goods, e-commerce businesses sending parcels across borders, and other logistics firms that need a forwarding partner.
Each shipment carries its own documentation, customs, and handling requirements, and few of those clients can manage that themselves. The market is large and still growing¹, and the coordination work it generates runs well beyond what any single forwarder can capture.
From sea-freight forwarding and air-cargo handling to customs clearance and multimodal coordination, the UAE rewards freight businesses that can move goods reliably across borders and modes.
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Who is this for?
- Freight forwarders: Businesses arranging and organising the movement of goods across sea, air, and road, and coordinating shipments on behalf of importers, exporters, and manufacturers.
- Customs clearance agents: Operators handling customs documentation and clearance for goods entering and leaving the UAE, and managing the transport documents each shipment requires.
- Cargo and consolidation specialists: Providers organising group and individual consignments, including the pickup, delivery, and grouping of goods, and handling cargo agency work for sea and air freight.
Meydan Free Zone offers 100% foreign ownership, zero percent corporate tax on qualifying income, full profit repatriation, and a fully digital licensing process, providing a regulated and cost-efficient base from which to operate a logistics and freight business on one of the world's busiest trade corridors.
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5229.91 - Logistics and Freight Services
Under this activity, you are licensed to provide transportation support services covering the forwarding, coordination, documentation, and handling of goods in transit.
There are clear boundaries on this activity. The classification places several related services under their own codes: courier activities, the provision of motor, marine, aviation and transport insurance, the activities of travel agencies and tour operators, and tourist assistance activities. Logistics and freight services covers the forwarding, coordination, documentation, and handling of goods in transit, not these separately classified activities.
The line is precise. If your business arranges, forwards, documents, or handles the movement of goods, you are in.
Third-Party Approval: Approval from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is required after the Meydan Free Zone license is obtained.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance: This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
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Footnotes
¹ Mordor Intelligence. United Arab Emirates Freight and Logistics Market Share and Size 2031 Outlook. Mordor Intelligence, January 2026.
² Coherent Market Insights. UAE Freight Forwarding Market Size and Opportunities 2025-2032. Coherent Market Insights, 2025.
