Cargo traffic through ports of general interest exceeds 277 Million Tonnes in the First Half of the Year
- TEU traffic continues to grow, up 2.4% through June.
- Liquid bulk cargo accelerates its growth, rising 4.8% driven by fuel products.
22 July 2026 (Organismo Público Puertos del Estado). Cargo throughput at Spain’s state-owned ports reached 277,681,553 tonnes in the first half of 2026, representing an increase of nearly one percentage point (+0.8%) compared with the same period last year. The first-half figures point to an improved outlook for port traffic despite ongoing global geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
General cargo declined slightly by 0.4%, with more than 140.33 million tonnes handled. Conventional general cargo increased by 1%, while containerised cargo fell by 1.1%.
TEU traffic continued its upward trend, rising by 2.4% to exceed 9.41 million TEUs during the first six months of the year. This growth was underpinned by strong import-export traffic (+3%) and transhipment containers (+2.1%).
Liquid bulk cargo consolidated its positive performance, reaching 91.38 million tonnes, up 4.8% year-on-year in cumulative terms since January, driven by higher volumes of gasoline, fuel oil, biofuels and chemical products. Solid bulk cargo totalled 38.24 million tonnes, down 4%.
Ro-ro traffic slowed its decline, recording a marginal decrease of 0.5% to more than 38.08 million tonnes.
The number of merchant vessels calling at Spanish ports declined less sharply than in previous months (-2.7%), with 76,115 vessel calls recorded during the first half of the year, while gross tonnage decreased by 0.9%.
Passenger traffic exceeded 17.55 million passenger movements through June, representing a 1.1% decrease compared with the same period in 2025.