​185 million tonnes were moved by April

Freight traffic through ports of general interest grew by 2.2% in the first four months of 2024

• Between January and April, TEUs increased by +11.9%, especially in transit (+18.6%), maintaining the upward trend with which the year began.
• Passenger movement increased by 3.9%, compared to the same period in 2023, with 9.4 million, including a 6.2% boost to cruise passengers.

22-05-2024 (State Ports Public Body). Ports of general interest moved a total of 185.045.014 tonnes in the first four months of 2024, which represents an increase of 2.2% compared to the same period of the previous year.

The traffic data for the first four months of the year confirm the increase in goods in Spanish ports, due to short-term causes such as traffic diverted as a result of the Red Sea crisis. The trend that was already glimpsed in January and February in data, such as moved TEUs, slowed down in March, but in April it registered a new boost, which Spanish ports are absorbing thanks to the capacity of the infrastructures they have and the efficiency of port services to deal with occasional peaks in activity.

Following the general trend of the year, all traffic registered increases between January and April, with the exception of solid bulk, which with 27.3 million tonnes, represents a decrease of 12.5% compared to the same period in 2023, the effect of the collapse of coal (-57.8%) and despite the increase in products such as other minerals or construction materials.

General  cargo continues to perform well, rebounding after a weaker March, and in the first four months of the year it increased by 8.1% compared to 2023, to 91.8 million tonnes, with an increase especially in containers, +10.7%, but with a boost also in conventional cargo, +2.7%.

TEUs  increased by 11.9% up to April compared to the same period of the previous year, with 5.85 million tonnes, highlighting a further boost to the increase in containers in transit (+18.6%).

Liquid  bulk registered an increase of 1.4%, to exceed 60 million tonnes, mainly due to the good performance of chemical products (+83.7%) and petrol (+15.9%).

Ro-ro traffic grew by 2% to 24.14 million tonnes.

The number of merchant ships through Spanish ports increased by 4.4% in January, totaling 49,366 units, and the gross tonnage grew by 4.9%.

 Passenger traffic through Spanish ports has moderated its growth, up to 3.9%, with 9.43 million movements in the first four months of the year, compared to the same period of the previous year.

The growth in the movement of cruise passengers picked up pace again in April, so the first four months of the year closed with an increase of 6.2% compared to 2023, to 2.94 million.

For more information: https://www.puertos.es/es-es/estadisticas/Paginas/estadistica_mensual.aspx