Freight traffic at general interest ports closes 2024 with over 557.7 million tons

• TEUs increased by 10.6%, driven by a 15.1% rebound in transshipment TEUs.
• Spanish ports recorded more than 40.8 million passenger movements.

January 31, 2025 (Puertos del Estado). Spain’s general interest ports handled 557,784,253 tons in 2024, according to provisional data, marking a 2.7% increase compared to 2023 (543.2 million). The year 2024 was characterized by a recovery in traffic following the 3% decline recorded the previous year, largely due to instability in the Red Sea, which forced the rerouting of traditional maritime routes from Asia, leading to a temporary surge in activity at some Spanish ports.

Although total traffic last year did not surpass the record high of 2019 (564.6 million tons), general cargo volumes exceeded all previous records, reaching 278.6 million tons, surpassing the 276.2 million tons recorded in 2021.

This 278.6 million-ton figure represents a 6.1% increase compared to 2023, mainly driven by the rise in containerized cargo (+8%). Conventional general cargo also saw an increase of 2.1%, reaching 85.5 million tons.

TEUs recorded a 10.6% increase in 2024, reaching 18,114,516 tons, a sharp contrast to the 4.5% decline in 2023. This surge was largely due to a 15.1% increase in transshipment containers, although this growth softened in the final months of the year after peaking in the summer (20.2% in June, 19% in July, and 18.1% in August).

Solid bulk cargo registered a 6.4% decrease, totaling 84.8 million tons, dragged down by a sharp drop in coal and petroleum coke (-41.2%). In contrast, liquid bulk cargo grew by 2.3%, reaching 178.9 million tons.

Ro-ro traffic increased by 1.1%, totaling 72.7 million tons.
The number of merchant vessels passing through Spanish ports rose by 1%, reaching 166,129 units, while gross tonnage grew by 2.5%.

Passenger traffic surpassed previous years’ figures, although with more moderate growth compared to 2023. In total, Spanish ports recorded 40.8 million passenger movements in 2024, marking a 3.9% increase, compared to the 18.9% surge in 2023, when the sector was still recovering from the pandemic.

Similarly, cruise passenger traffic at Spanish ports reached 12.8 million in 2024, reflecting a 6.7% increase compared to the previous year.