Port traffic nearly recovers pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of 2022

• Cargo traffic increases by 5% compared to the same months in 2021.
• More than 20 million regular line passengers and 5.3 million cruise passengers confirm the recovery of the sector.

26-10-2022 (Public Body Puertos del Estado). The total traffic of the 46 general interest ports of the State during the first nine months of the year reached 425,366,644 tons, which represents an increase of 5% compared to the same period in 2021. In relation to the last record year, 2019, cargo traffic is practically equal with only a difference of -0.64% (2.7 million tons). In this way, almost half of the Port Authorities (A Coruña, Alicante, Bay of Cádiz, Barcelona, Cartagena, Castellón, Gijón, Las Palmas, Málaga, Pasaia, Valencia, Vigo, and Vilagarcía) already surpass the records of 2019.

Looking ahead to the close of the 2022 fiscal year, the year-on-year traffic for the last twelve months has already exceeded the data from 2019 with an average of more than 564.5 million tons, foreseeing a record year-end.

In terms of traffic volume and presentation, general cargo, with 208.1 million tons, accounts for more than 50% of the total, and containerized general cargo, with 144.5 million tons, represents nearly 70%. However, conventional general cargo, with 63.6 million tons, continues to grow strongly (+9.7%), driven by the increase in products such as wood and cork (+17%) and minerals (+13%).

Liquid bulk, the second most voluminous group of goods with 136.4 million tons, has grown by +8% thanks to the strong increase (+53%) in the movement of natural gas, reaching over 16.5 million tons in the first nine months of the year. Other products such as gasoline (+16%) and crude oil (+15.5%) have also contributed to supporting this growth.

Solid bulk, with 69.5 million tons, has been the goods that have grown the most (+10.1%), mainly due to the increase in the movement of coal (+64%), which has exceeded 13.3 million tons, and cereals and their flours (+31.5%) with 10.7 million tons.

Ro-ro traffic, industrial vehicles loaded with goods that are shipped, has grown by +11.3% to exceed 53.7 million tons.

Container movement, the format mainly used for the movement of general cargo, exceeded 13.2 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). This mode has maintained a good pace in import/export (+3.2%), balancing the loss experienced in transit traffic (-4%).

The recovery of passenger traffic has been spectacular in recent months. The 25.4 million passengers counted in the first nine months of 2022 represent more than 85% of the passengers moved in the same months of 2019. Both regular line passengers, more than 20 million people, and the 5.3 million cruise passengers are progressively recovering pre-pandemic levels.

The number of ships transiting through the ports reached 119,200 units, with an increase of +14.3% compared to 2021. Although this figure is 10% lower than the one counted in 2019, the gross tonnage (G.T.) of the ships in 2022 exceeds that of that year by 56.6 million, confirming the larger size of the ships today.