Qatar’s Logistics Sector Growing Despite Challenges

The unprecedented spread of COVID-19 has challenged the entire world as a whole, and no country is left unaffected. Qatar is no exception here. Owing to the global travel and logistics restrictions imposed by the majority of the countries across the world, global logistics have taken a significant dip.

The year that started as a “supply shock” when China – the global manufacturing hub – shut itself for nearly two and a half months is now taking a U-turn. Suddenly it turned into a “demand shock” when various parts of the world went into lockdown, and global trade nearly came to a halt for consumer goods. It is now in a phase of find it’s balance global supply chain ecosystem. The logistics sector has taken a significant hit in the last six months and is trying to find a new normal with this act of rebalancing. 

What works in favour of Qatar is that it produces some of the essential goods such as liquid natural gas (LNG), petroleum, and steel, whose demand will not go down any time soon. There’s no denying that the market has gone down, but it hopes to bounce back in the following months as the world tries to find its way back to a new normal. In fact, as per this forecast, the global demand for LNG will stay around 3-5% – which was at 12% the previous year. On top of that, Qatar will also host the Fifa World Cup 2022, which is a massive event to look forward to in a post-pandemic era.

There’s just about enough time to restructure everything and make it an even more significant success than anticipated. The government of Qatar plans to develop the country into a new logistical hub and regional center to facilitate larger supply all over the world.

From “Supply Shock” to “Demand Shock” the market is going through a massive transformation phase. Logistics Providers such as JSL Global have found a way to keep moving despite all the challenges and keeping the supply chain alive every single day. Providers face an added challenge of less workforce on the field due to government restrictions and health concerns. A majority of workers are working from home, which poses a severe problem as logistics needs more hands and feet on the field than at home. But, this hasn’t deterred them from doing what they do best – keeping things moving.

It indicates that international trade is facing a temporary decline, possibly for a longer-term. But it will start picking up some pace as soon as all the countries start opening up their markets post-COVID-19. 

We may be past the “supply shock” and “demand shock”, but are we going to see a “bullwhip effect” once things get back to normal is a thought to ponder upon.

Source: GECF

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JSL Global as a supply chain and logistics provider has an extensive presence in Qatar – Oman – Dubai – Myanmar regions.