Saw this movie a while ago on TV but I cannot remember the title.... 
It's about a guy that works for a big construction company from the US
that gets sent to overview a big contract/project in the Middle East.
All the material was at the dock, but this guy could not get the work
started because of some kind of Sheik and his assistant that did all
they could to delay the start of this contract.  He ends up getting
"stuck" there and cannot leave the country, so he does some quick
planning and ships himself out of there in a wooden crate. Possibly
based on a true story and I believe the original release date was
early/mid 90's but that is a guess.

Your movie is "Human Cargo," also known as "Escape." It's a 1998
made-for-TV movie starring Treat Williams.

"Treat Williams plays a prefab housing engineer who travels to Saudi
Arabia in the late 70's to cinch a multi-million dollar deal. But when
he arrives he discovers that what he bargained for wasn't actually
much of a bargain. His original deal with the Saudi government
collapses and he is forced to rely on the good graces of his
unreliable but charismatic Arab middle man. As the title implies
things don't get much better and Williams and he must try to escape
before he ends up under a dune in the desert!"

Internet Movie Database: Escape: Human Cargo
http://imdb.com/title/tt0143236/

http://www.onifc.com/films/31509/

"In 1979, John McDonald (nicely played by Treat Williams as less a
blissful optimist than a desperate man concealing his indignation with
a mask of willed hopefulness) goes to Saudi Arabia expecting to
construct prefab homes in collaboration with a wealthy sheik. His
supposed partners, however, are tight-fisted con men, who foist all
expenses on McDonald's shoulders and are perfectly willing to throw
him in jail and confiscate his passport when he balks at paying. The
film is horrified at the plutocratic iniquities of the Saudi legal
system, but it doesn't hesitate to place equal responsibility for the
grotesque mess on its hero, who stubbornly expects everyone to play by
the same rules that work in Texas. Ironically, the film's only
disappointing stretch is the failed suspense of its final act, which
details McDonald's method of escape."

Amazon: Human Cargo VHS
http://www.amazon.com/Human-Cargo-Treat-Williams/dp/1929732007
Amazon: Human Cargo DVD
http://www.amazon.com/Human-Cargo-Treat-Williams/dp/630563923X

My Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "treat williams" "human cargo"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22treat+williams%22+%22human+cargo%22

I hope this is the correct movie. If it is not, please request
clarification; I'll be glad to offer further assistance before you
rate my answer.

Best regards,
pinkfreud

That's the one...!  Thanks you so much for your assistance.  I was
drained trying to figure it out.

Thank you for the five stars and the nice tip!

~pinkfreud