Middle East conflict: Logistics activity in Gulf region plummets by 20% since beginning of Operation Epic Fury

The outbreak of Operation Epic Fury on February 28, 2026, has triggered a significant drop in commercial vehicle activity across the Middle East’s logistics corridors. The collateral impact of military strikes and damages to strategic infrastructure on regional commerce in the region has been immediate and profound. Total fleet movement across the Gulf region has contracted by 20.6%, shows data analysis conducted by fleet digitalization platform Wialon, which connects over 320,000 fleet vehicles in the MENA region.

Wialon monitored and analysed real-time data from over 50,000 commercial vehicles connected to the Wialon software platform throughout the region, in Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, UAE, and Yemen.

The decline in activity is visible in the top 5 countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Iraq), where the total number of connected vehicles has remained relatively stable, but the distance travelled per unit dropped sharply.

The conflict has forced a dramatic shift in fleet operations: while the number of connected vehicles in the region has remained stable, their actual utilization has decreased by over 20%. The regional average weekly mileage per vehicle plummeted from 935 km in the final week of February to just 756 km by the third week of March. This indicates that while fleets remained "online", they were facing increasing operational restrictions.

“The data reveals a stark reality: while fleets remain technologically "online" and visible through the software, the operational environment on the ground has rendered movement increasingly difficult,” says Aliaksandr Kuushynau, Head of Wialon.

Across the region, the fleet management platform recorded a massive drop in total movement: from 46,697,957 km per week before the strikes, to 37,081,884 km in the week 21-23 March. This represents a total contraction of 20.6% in distance covered.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a major hub for global trade, recorded the most significant decline: average mileage per vehicle dropped by nearly 27%. This sharp decline was likely due to retaliatory strikes on infrastructure and the suspension of operations at key ports.

In Saudi Arabia, commercial fleets monitored on the Wialon platform saw a 15.4% decrease in activity, signaling a broader regional slowdown and increased operational risks.

The conflict has had further impacts outside the immediate Gulf countries, with Egypt experiencing a "surge and crash" in commercial fleet vehicle activity: mileage peaked in the first week after the conflict at 1,299 km per unit (an 11% increase over the week before the conflict), followed by a massive 36.6% crash in the week 16-23 March as the regional crisis deepened and drastic emergency measures were implemented.

Wialon is one of the leading global platforms for fleet digitalization. With over 4 million fleet vehicles connected in more than 160 countries, Wialon provides the granular, real-time data for efficient fleet operations and serves as the technology backbone for thousands of fleet service providers.

Timeline of the Crisis: Tracking the Downturn

To capture the impact of the disruption, Wialon specialists analysed fleet data from three critical phases:

- Week 1 (Feb 21 – Feb 28) established the baseline of normal commercial activity before the outbreak of the conflict.

- Week 2 (Mar 1 – Mar 8) captured the immediate shockwaves following the initial U.S. and Israeli strikes, characterized by early Iranian retaliation and rising infrastructure threats.

- Week 3 (Mar 16 – Mar 23) data reflects a state of sustained regional crisis, as the formal closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the systematic targeting of data infrastructure forced logistics networks into a defensive standstill.