Ports of general interest handled more than 420 million tonnes of cargo through September

• Liquid bulk cargo continued to perform well, increasing by 3.6%, driven by the energy and chemical products segments.
• Container traffic (TEUs) rose by 1.1%, with import-export traffic growing by 2.3%.

22 October 2026 (Puertos del Estado). Cargo traffic through Spain’s state-owned ports reached 420,623,593 tonnes in the first nine months of 2026, representing an increase of 1.2% compared with the same period last year, despite rising fuel prices and geopolitical uncertainty, which continue to shape the evolution of maritime traffic.

General cargo continued to moderate its decline, recording a decrease of 0.2% through September (-0.6% in August and -0.8% in July), with more than 209 million tonnes handled. Of this total, 142.6 million tonnes were containerised cargo (-0.8%), while more than 67 million tonnes (+1.1%) were conventional general cargo.

TEU traffic increased by 1.1%, exceeding 14 million units in the first nine months of the year. Import-export traffic led the way, recording growth of 2.3%.

Liquid bulk cargo improved its figures, reaching 138.3 million tonnes, up 3.6% year to date, driven by growth in petrol and chemical products. Dry bulk cargo recorded a slight decline of 0.3%, with a cumulative total of 60.1 million tonnes.

Ro-ro traffic edged up by 0.4%, reaching 56.7 million tonnes.

The number of merchant vessels calling at Spanish ports fell by 1.1% to 123,237, while gross tonnage increased by 0.6%.

Passenger traffic totalled nearly 33 million movements (32,998,746) through September, representing a decrease of 1.1% compared with the same period last year.

For further information: https://www.puertos.es/es-es/estadisticas/Paginas/estadistica_mensual.aspx