Puertos del Estado close 2021 with 544.5 million tons handled

• Port traffic increases by 5.6% compared to 2020, coming within 20 million tons of the historical record set in 2019
• General cargo, with 276.2 million tons, surpasses pre-pandemic levels.
• New historical record in container movement: Spain exceeds 17.7 million TEUs, consolidating its position as the main hub in southern Europe

February 2, 2022 (Public Body Puertos del Estado). The 46 ports of general interest of the State, coordinated by Puertos del Estado, handled 544,536,918 tons in 2021, representing an increase of 5.6% compared to the 515,573,709 tons handled in 2020. The provisional data for the close of 2021 has marked the recovery of most port traffic, standing at 19.9 million tons below the historical peak reached in 2019 with 564.5 million tons.

By presentation type, general cargo, the largest group with 276.2 million tons, grew by +5.6% compared to the previous year, although within this group, conventional general cargo experienced a much higher increase (+14.7%) due to the increase in the movement of machinery, construction materials, and steel products. However, containerized general cargo, which accounts for 72% of all general cargo handled, also grew by +2.4%. Compared to 2019, general cargo grew by +0.8%.

Solid bulk, with over 85 million tons, was the group that grew the most (+10.4%) compared to 2020. In this group, the decline in coal traffic (-14.4%), which has been occurring in recent years due to the decarbonization process taking place in Europe, has been compensated by the increase in traffic of products such as iron ore +52.6%, other non-metallic minerals +30.5%, or cement and clinker +19.2%. Compared to 2019, solid bulk decreased by -6.3%.

Liquid bulk, the second-largest group with 170.9 million tons, grew by +2.3% compared to 2020 driven by products such as biofuels (+9.5%) and natural gas (+7%). Compared to 2019, liquid bulk decreased by -8.6%.

Container traffic, quantified in TEUs (20-foot containers), reached a historical high in Spanish ports with 17,712,481 TEUs, representing an increase of +5.5% compared to 2020 and +1.2% compared to 2019. This data highlights the good performance of Spanish ports during the recent crisis due to the collapse of some Asian and American ports and underscores Spain's status as the main hub in southern Europe, being the first European country in container traffic.

Finally, passenger traffic continues its slow but steady recovery. With 17.9 million passengers, there was an increase of 34.7% compared to 2020, although this figure is far from the 37.6 million reached in 2019. This is because some of the restrictions imposed during the pandemic have continued in 2021. However, it is expected that both cruise and regular line traffic will continue to recover, estimating that by 2023 we will approach pre-pandemic levels.