Cargo traffic at ports of general interest grew by 3% through October
- The trend observed so far in 2024 continues, with significant increases in TEUs (11.7%) and particularly in transshipment traffic (+17.3%).
- Passenger movements rose by 2.7% compared to the same period in 2023, reaching 35.1 million.
November 22, 2024 (State Ports Public Entity). Ports of general interest handled a total of 468,399,486 tons between January and October 2024, reflecting a 3% increase compared to the same period last year, consistent with the year-to-date data driven by the global economic climate.
During the first ten months of the year, general cargo increased by 6.9% compared to 2023, reaching 234.5 million tons. This was driven by a strong growth in containerized cargo (+9.2%), compared to the more moderate rise in conventional general cargo (+2%).
TEUs grew by 11.7% over the same period last year, totaling 15.2 million tons. While this trend has persisted throughout the year, transshipment TEUs saw a slightly smaller increase (+17.3%) compared to earlier months (18.7% in July and 19.9% in June), following a similar pattern to that observed in August and September.
Liquid bulk cargo saw a 2.9% rise through October, reaching 150 million tons. This growth was supported by robust figures for chemical products (+130.7%), gasoline (+29%), and petroleum and derivative products in general.
All traffic categories recorded increases between January and October, except for solid bulk cargo, which decreased by 7.4% to 70 million tons due to declines in coal (-45.7%) and some food products. However, in October, the monthly figure surpassed that of the same month in the previous year (7.18 million tons compared to 7.14 million).
Ro-ro traffic posted a slight increase of 0.9% over the previous year, reaching 61 million tons.
The number of merchant ships passing through Spanish ports grew by 0.5% during the first ten months of the year, totaling 140,973 vessels, while gross tonnage rose by 2.2%.
Passenger traffic at Spanish ports increased by 2.7% through October compared to 2023, with 35.1 million movements recorded.