The UAE has invested substantially in developing its warehousing facilities and transportation infrastructure, making it one of the success stories of the global logistics industry in recent times.Following in its footsteps, operations in neighbouring countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain, are now also beginning to flourish. According to recent market research GCC logistics industry registers over 20 per cent growth per annum. It is evident that the region’s trade patterns and logistics development is constantly evolving and over the next year or more the industry will remain in a state of positive change. In a move to bring the region’s entire logistics sector together in order to plan for the future, this year, for the first time, leading biennial trade show Materials Handling Middle East will run alongside TOC Middle East — the conference and exhibition dedicated to cargo owners, shipping lines, terminal operators and the container supply chain.  For 12 years, Materials Handling Middle East has showcased the latest trends and developments within the region’s logistics and materials handling industries.Each year the show receives strong interest from manufacturers, suppliers, agencies and government institutions across the region. And in 2011 the exhibition will showcase logistics, supply chain, freight and cargo, automation and information and communication technology products and services.To extend the reach of this year’s show, both organizers have decided to align their shows.  The three-day conference will offer delegates a look into the future of the region’s trade with the rest of the world and the impact for all those involved in providing logistics, transport and port services to enable container supply chain flow to and from Middle Eastern markets.Paul Holloway, Event Director of TOC Events Worldwide, commented: “For the last 35 years, TOC has focused on the evolution of the container and terminal operations. Now more than ever, cargo owners and shipping lines are looking at the efficiency of the terminal, the handling of cargo and the impact of operations within the supply chain. By co-locating with Materials Handling Middle East, TOC will be able to reach even more port and logistics operators, benefiting from the unique insights offered by our expert speakers. Ultimately, the aim of bringing the two shows together is to provide an all encompassing view of the region’s ports and logistics sector, which we believe will help the industry to develop and better serve the changing trade landscape.”Michael Dehn, Group Exhibitions Director for Materials Handling Middle East organizer, Epoc Messe Frankfurt, said: “With our trade events we aim to bring together the key industry experts from a particular field under one roof. We strive to deliver a veritable platform which reflects the industry it represents. This co-location of the two shows will further leverage our reach to the international arena and our shared synergies will greatly benefit trade visitors who can profit from their trip to Dubai by gaining direct access to these co-located events.” According to the ‘World Investment Report 2011’ by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) region dropped by 15 per cent between 2009 and 2010, settling on $57 billion from the former $67 billion; save for Oman and Lebanon, this drop affected all ESCWA countries.The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) still received the most FDI inflows in 2010, which amounted to $28 billion. Egypt came second with $6 billion, and Qatar third with $5.5 billion. Lebanon, for its part, maintained the fourth place, albeit with a slight increase from $4.8 billion in 2009 to $5 billion in 2010, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was ranked fifth with $4 billion approximately.FDI flows from the ESCWA region retracted by 51 per cent between 2009 and 2010, reaching $12.5 billion. This originated from the decrease in Kuwaiti flows from $8.6 billion to 2.1 billion because of the sale of a major telecommunication company. Another reason is the sharp decrease in Qatari flows from $11.6 billion in 2009 to $1.9 billion in 2010. KSA ranked first with foreign investments totaling about $4 billion.Over half of ESCWA countries’ foreign investments are placed in developed countries, namely in chemicals, transport and hotel sectors. A big part of the remaining investments is placed in Arab countries, namely in real estate, oil and gas, and hotel sectors. Materials Handling Middle East and TOC Middle East will take place at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Dubai, from 25 - 27 September, 2011. From / Gulf Today