Freight traffic through ports of general interest exceeds 87 million tonnes in the first two months

•    TEUs rose by 2.6% through February, with a 9.7% increase in import-export traffic
•    Spanish ports recorded 4.4 million passenger movements

March 25, 2025 (Puertos del Estado). The ports of general interest handled a total of 87,428,056 tonnes of goods up to February 2025, representing a 1.7% decrease compared to the same period in 2024. Following a provisional year-end total of 557.7 million tonnes in 2024 (+2.7% vs. 2023), 2025 has started with some weakness. However, after a sharp drop of 6.4% in January, the decline moderated in February.

General cargo rose 3.5% in the first two months of the year, reaching 44.2 million tonnes, driven by a 9.9% increase in conventional cargo (14.4 million tonnes) and a more modest 0.6% rise in containerised cargo.

TEUs grew 2.6% in January and February, reaching 2.8 million units. After a 15.1% increase in transhipment TEUs in 2024, this year began with a 2.3% drop in that category, and a similar decline in February (-2.2%), though import-export TEUs increased by 9.7%.

Solid bulk traffic remains on a downward trend, although recovering from the 18.3% drop recorded in January due to storms and temporary port closures. Up to February, solid bulk fell 5.7%, totalling 12.9 million tonnes, weighed down by declines in some food products, coal, and construction materials.

Liquid bulk also decreased, by 7% (compared to 10.8% in January), down to 27.8 million tonnes, mainly due to reduced traffic in crude oil and oil products.

Ro-ro traffic recorded a strong 7.8% increase, reaching 12.4 million tonnes.

The number of merchant vessels calling at Spanish ports in the first two months of 2025 decreased slightly by 0.3% compared to the same period the previous year, with a total of 23,599 ships, while gross tonnage fell by 1.5%.

Passenger traffic increased by 8.5% through February compared to the same months in 2024, reaching 4.4 million passenger movements.