Cargo traffic through the ports of general interest grew by 3% through July

• Between January and July, TEUs increased by 11.7%, particularly in transit (+18.7%).
• Passenger traffic rose by 3.4% compared to the same period in 2023, reaching 21.56 million.

26-08-2024 (Puertos del Estado Public Entity). The ports of general interest handled a total of 330,322,598 tons between January and July, representing a 3% increase compared to the same period last year.

During the first seven months of the year, the situation of violence in the Red Sea has forced the diversion of traditional maritime routes, impacting the increase in goods through Spanish ports, especially in container transit. These activity spikes are being managed by ports with well-prepared infrastructure and services.

In the first seven months of the year, general cargo rose by 7.1% compared to 2023, reaching 165.6 million tons, with a notable increase in containerized cargo (+9.8%), in contrast to the moderate rise in conventional general cargo (+1.4%).

TEUs increased by 11.7% compared to the same period last year, reaching 10.6 million tons, in line with the growth pace set earlier this year, mainly due to the strong surge in transit TEUs (+18.7%) in ports such as Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, and Las Palmas, among others.

Liquid bulk cargo recorded a rise of 4%, reaching 106.8 million tons, mainly due to the strong performance of chemical products (+115.2%) and gasoline (+20.7%), as well as oil and oil products in general.

All traffic categories registered increases between January and July, except for solid bulk, which saw a 10.1% drop, with 49.1 million tons, driven by the decline in coal (-55%), as well as steel products, cement, and some food products.

Ro-ro traffic grew by 0.4% to 43.6 million tons.

The number of merchant ships passing through Spanish ports increased by 1.3% in the first seven months of the year, totaling 95,182 vessels, while gross tonnage grew by 3%.

Passenger traffic through Spanish ports increased by 3.4% through July compared to 2023, with 21.56 million movements.