​Port traffic decreased by 3.7% compared to the same period last year

Spanish ports moved 455 million tonnes up to October, with a moderation in the decrease of traffic

• Passengers, including both cruise and regular line, continued the upward trend, exceeding 34 million, a 20% increase compared to January to October 2022

22-11-2023 (State Ports Public Body). General interest ports moved 455,075,085 tonnes between January and October 2023, which is a 3.7% decrease compared to the same period the previous year, showing a slight moderation in the downward trend of traffic.

Despite the impact of international tensions, the movements of the state-owned port system have seen smaller declines than in previous months. General merchandise contracted by 4.5% (compared to 5.5% in September) to 219.7 million tonnes, due to a decrease in containerized cargo (-7%) – less than the -8.2% recorded in September – and an increase in conventional general merchandise of 1.1%. This increase is attributed to the strong performance of vehicles, which as a commodity rose by 24% to 3.2 million, with the ports of Barcelona, Valencia, and Vigo leading.

In TEUs, the decreases are also smaller than in previous months Up to October, container movement through Spanish ports reached 13,646,504 TEUs, a 6.7% decrease compared to the same period last year, and less than the 7.9% decrease recorded in September compared to 2022.

Solid bulk recorded a decrease of 1.8% up to October, totalling 76.6 million tonnes. The steep increase in cereal movement (+41.1%) was offset by a decline in coal and minerals. Liquid bulk decreased by 3.2% between January and October to 146.3 million tonnes, five tenths less than in September, with a slight increase in October compared to the same month in 2022, including a significant rise in diesel (+14.1%).

Ro-ro traffic grew by 1.2% to 60.4 million tonnes.

The number of merchant ships through Spanish ports increased by 5.2% compared to the first ten months of 2023, totaling 139,986 units, with gross tonnage growing by 6.7%.

Passenger traffic continues its upward trend. A total of 34.2 million people passed through Spanish ports between January and October, 20.1% more than in those months of the previous year. Cruises continue to show strength, with over 10 million passengers until October (10.1), 52.7% more than in the same period of 2022. Notably, in 2019, a record year, the total number was 10.6 million, indicating that the end of 2023 is expected to surpass this figure.

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