Freight traffic through ports of general interest grew by 2.4% up to February

• The first two months of the year stand out for the strong increase in TEUs (+9.7%), especially in transit (+16.9%), and general goods (+7.2%).
• Passenger movement increased by 7%, compared to the first two months of 2023, with 4.12 million.

22-03-2024 (State Ports Public Body). Ports of general interest moved 88.70 million tonnes in the first two months of the year, 2.4% more than in the same period of 2023.

The traffic data for the first two months of the year reflect the impact of the situation of instability in the Red Sea - which has caused the diversion of maritime routes by shipping companies - on Spanish ports, which are absorbing, without any problem, part of this diverted traffic. The sharp rises in TEUs, especially in containers in transit, in ports such as Algeciras, Barcelona, Valencia and Las Palmas indicate this. It is also worth noting the increase in the provisioning of liquid fuels in ports such as Algeciras (+35.2%) or Las Palmas (+16.5%), which ships need to face longer routes.

All traffic registered increases in the first two months of the year, with the exception of solid bulk. Of particular note is the increase in general merchandise with 7.2% compared to the same period of the previous year, and 42.70 million tonnes, with increases in both containerised presentations, +9%, and conventional presentations, +3.6%.

TEUs increased by 9.7% compared to the same period of the previous year, with 2.74 million tonnes, highlighting the strong increase in containers in transit (+16.9%), as we said especially in ports such as Barcelona (+39.1%), Las Palmas (+35.9%), Valencia (+14.5%) and Algeciras (+7.7%).

Liquid bulk registered an increase of 1.7% to 29.91 million tonnes, with significant increases in chemicals and crude oil. Meanwhile, solid bulk fell by 10% to 13.71 million tonnes, due to the decline in the traffic of coal and petroleum coke.

Ro-ro traffic grew by 5% to 11.53 million tonnes.

The number of merchant ships through Spanish ports increased by 4.5% in 2023 , totalling 164,215 units, with gross tonnage growing by 6%.

Passenger traffic through Spanish ports continues to grow, at a rate of 7%, with 4.12 million movements in the first two months of the year compared to the same period of the previous year.

Cruise passenger traffic increased by 2.5% to 1.19 million in the first two months of the year, a more moderate increase than in previous months, but waiting for the high season to begin.