Middle Corridor elevated from alternative to primary Eurasian trade artery

The simultaneous closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea — an 86% plunge in Hormuz transit volumes combined with ongoing Red Sea disruption — has stress-tested the global shipping system beyond theoretical models, forcing Maersk, MSC, and CMA CGM to suspend operations across both routes. The Middle Corridor (China–Central Asia–Caspian–Caucasus–Turkey–Europe) is absorbing diverted flows not as a contingency but as a structural necessity. This is a durable shift: once shippers build operational familiarity and infrastructure investment follows, the corridor's role will not fully revert even after maritime routes reopen.