​The big Spanish ports make their mark in the heart of Europe: 15 ports participate together with Puertos del Estado in the BreakBulk exhibition held in Bremen

Spanish ports are consolidating their position as the best solution for shipping any type of goods

• The European continent is the origin/destination of 44% of the goods moved by Spanish ports.
• Ro-ro traffic and project cargo are gaining ground in the ports.
• The Puertos del Estado stand slogan is more than a statement of intent: "Too big? Too heavy? Too complicated? Not for Spanish Ports: Spanish Ports, where too complicated simply doesn't exist."
• The logistics offering includes nearly 120 km of docks and more than 200 cranes for all kinds of cargos.

05-29-2018 (Spanish Ministry of Public Works and Transport). Europe is undoubtedly Spain's main market: of the 545 million tons moved in Spanish ports in 2017 (an all-time high), around 44%, or 241.6 million tons, had their origin/destination in a country on the European continent. This close trading relationship is reflected in the significant and numerous presence of our ports at one of the main events in the sector, the BreakBulk exhibition held from May 29 to 31 in the German city of Bremen.

In 2017, more than 101 million tons of solid bulk cargos were moved, 178.5 million tons of liquid cargos, 71 million tons of conventional breakbulk cargo and 181.5 million tons in containers, 57 million tons in ro-ro traffic. These goods included over 3.4 million tons of vehicles 25.2 million tons of flours, cereals, animal feed and fodder, 10.1 million fruit, vegetables and legumes, etc. In fact, goods of any kind.

• PROJECT CARGOS: INCREASINGLY COMMON IN SPANISH PORTS

Spanish ports receive increasingly more cargos for shipping in the category of what is called "project cargos": these are goods whose size and weight is far beyond normal, forming part of large structures (wind towers, storage depots, etc.) that have to be handled in large spaces, using special cranes and highly qualified personnel. In addition, the ports themselves organize and coordinate all the transportation involved in the logistical chain.

Goods of this kind, and some more sophisticated, are becoming increasingly important, and all of them have a place in our ports. That is why the slogan "Too big? Too heavy? Too complicated? Not for Spanish Ports: Spanish Ports, where too complicated simply doesn't exist" represents explicitly the capacity of Spanish ports to move and handle all the goods that pass through them, in particular the most complex such as wind turbine blades, metal structures and offshore platforms. The main challenge and purpose of the presence of Spanish ports and companies in this fair is to consolidate existing traffic and attract new orders, in particular cargo in transit and ro-ro.

With more than 62.7 linear kilometers of docks dedicated to bulk cargo, 17.3 kilometers for ro-ro traffic and 36.3 multi-use, serviced by over 200 cranes, the Spanish port system, the main platform for the south of Europe, has become one of the main new attractions at this fair.

• AT THE HEART OF CENTRAL EUROPEAN MARKETS

Coordinated by Puertos del Estado, 15 ports authorities, representing between them 80% of national port traffic, will be present in Bremen at the "Ports of Spain" stand: A Coruña, Avilés, Bahía de Algeciras, Bilbao, Cartagena, Castellón, Ferrol-San Cibrao, Gijón, Huelva, Las Palmas, Santander, Sta. Cruz de Tenerife, Tarragona, Valencia and Vigo. All of them have a common goal: to offer users world-class facilities and services that are competitive, capable of handling any type of cargo, with any origin/destination, and that are interconnected with the main trans-European transportation networks, and at the crossroads of the main global maritime routes.

BreakBulk Europe is the most important bulk cargo, project cargo logistics and ro-ro fair in Europe. It allows forwarders, terminal companies, specialized sea transporters, ports, logistical suppliers, etc. to show to some 7,000 visitors the possibilities of handling and shipping any type of goods.

Germany ranks in first place in the report on the World Bank's 2016 Logistics Performance Index of 160 countries. It is the logistics giant of Europe, with annual revenues of more than 235 billion euros: more than France and the United Kingdom, 2nd and 3rd in logistics revenues in Europe, combined.

It is Europe's no. 1 economy and the 4th biggest in the world, generating 3,000 billion euros per year of goods and services. It is also the third biggest exporter in the world, and the third biggest importer of goods.

What's more, it is the global leader in logistics innovation, technology and services, with nearly 3 million employees in the industry in around 60,000 companies. It is also the biggest exporter of intralogistics in the world, at 13 billion euros, followed by China and the United States, with 10.1 billion euros and 7.4 billion euros, respectively.

Bremen is the fourth most important port in Europe in container movements, with more than 5.5 million TEUs in 2016. Specializing in the handling of breakbulk and bulk cargo, it moved 2 million new vehicles, is the preferred port for handling refrigerated fruit, and is becoming an important port for the marine wind energy industry.