Spanish ports moved 455 million tons until October, and the decline in traffic moderates

Passengers, both from cruises and regular lines, continue the upward trend, exceeding 34 million, 20% more than between January and October 2022

November 22, 2023 (Public Body Puertos del Estado). General interest ports moved 455,075,085 tons between January and October 2023, which represents a 3.7% decrease compared to the same period last year, and a slight moderation of the downward trend in traffic.

Although movements in the state-owned port system continue to reflect international tensions, the declines are smaller than in previous months. General cargo contracted by 4.5% (compared to 5.5% in September) to 219.7 million tons, due to the decrease in containerized cargo (-7%) -lower than that recorded in September (-8.2%)-, and with an increase in conventional general cargo of 1.1%. This increase is due to the good performance of vehicles, which as cargo increased by 24%, up to 3.2 million, with the ports of Barcelona, Valencia, and Vigo leading the way.

In TEUs, the declines are also lower than in previous months. Thus, in the period until October, the movement of containers through Spanish ports reached 13,646,504 TEUs, 6.7% less than in the same period of the previous year, compared to the 7.9% decrease recorded in September compared to 2022.

Solid bulk recorded a decrease of 1.8% until October, reaching 76.6 million tons. This time, the strong increase in the movement of cereals (+41.1%) was offset by the decrease in coal and minerals. Regarding liquid bulk, they decreased by 3.2% between January and October to 146.3 million tons, five-tenths less than in September and with a slight increase in October compared to the same month in 2022, with a strong rebound in diesel fuel (+14.1%).

Ro-ro traffic grew by 1.2% to 60.4 million tons.

The number of merchant ships in Spanish ports increased by 5.2% compared to the first ten months of 2023, with a total of 139,986 units, and gross tonnage increased by 6.7%.

Passenger traffic continues its upward trend. In total, 34.2 million people passed through Spanish ports between January and October, 20.1% more than in the same months of the previous year. Cruises continue to show strength, surpassing 10 million passengers until October (10.1), 52.7% more than in the same period in 2022. Precisely, in 2019, a reference year because record figures of cruise passengers were reached, the total number was 10.6 million, so, with two months left in the year, the outlook suggests that the closing of 2023 will mark a higher figure.