The levels of goods in transit during this period were the second highest on record, surpassed only by 529,000 tonnes in 2019
Port traffic exceeded 332 million tonnes over the first 7 months of the year
• Both liquid bulk (+12.4%), solid bulk (+11.8%) and conventional general cargo (+10.9%) have increased in comparison to 2021.
• Passenger traffic exceeded 16.3 million people, of which a 5th were cruise passengers
29-08-2022 (Spanish Port Authority). Goods and passenger traffic through the 46 Spanish ports of general interest maintained a growth rate of +6.9% over the first seven months of the year, reaching 332,756,499 tonnes of goods. Even more notable was the increase in passenger traffic, which grew by +122%, with a total of 16,268,749 passengers. Accordingly, 21 of the 28 Port Authorities managing ports of general interest have experienced increases ranging from +0.3% in Las Palmas to +54.8% in Malaga.
The three main groups of goods according to their packaging—liquid bulk, solid bulk and general cargo—have experienced increases, with double-digit increases in the case of bulk goods. Liquid bulk—107,491,212 tonnes (+12.4%)—was boosted in particular by the increase in natural gas transit (+70%), which exceeded 13 million tonnes, and crude oil (+20%), which reached 38.4 million tonnes. Solid bulk—53,239,181 tonnes (+11.8%)—increased largely as a result of coal and petroleum coke transit (+55.6%), which rose to over 9.8 million tonnes, plus grain and flour, which now exceed 7.5 million tonnes and grew by +39.7%.
General cargo—163,396,896 tonnes—grew by +1.2%, which was entirely attributable to conventional general cargo (+10.9%). In this group, the rise in the transit of wood and cork (+20.4%), and to a lesser extent minerals and metal waste (+13.5%), were particularly notable.
Goods in transit—those that use Spanish ports as a stopover on their way for delivery to other countries and/or continents—account for 27% of the total goods moved through Spanish ports, approaching 87 million tonnes.
Ro-ro traffic—commercial vehicles loaded with goods that choose to embark on certain routes—exceeded 42.3 million tonnes, growing by +12.4%.
Container transit, measured in TEUs (6-metre containers), came to almost 10.3 million, of which 5.4 million were in transit, 3.7 million were import-export, and 1.2 million were domestic inbound/outbound.
For its part, passenger traffic is recovering from the figures achieved over the last two years, which were affected by the pandemic and the restrictions imposed on routes to North Africa, now standing at 12.8 million passengers, to which should be added 3.5 million cruise passengers. Overall, passenger traffic increased by +122%.
Finally, merchant vessel traffic through Spanish ports amounted to 87,670 units over the first seven months of the year, a 15% increase compared to 2021.
For more information: Pages - Monthly Statistics (puertos.es)