Spanish State Ports handled more than 181 million tonnes of cargo through April
- TEUs continue their recovery, rising by 4.2% in the first four months of the year
- Liquid bulk cargo also increased by 2.9%, driven by fuels and chemical products
25-05-2026 (Puertos del Estado). Cargo traffic through Spain’s ports of general interest reached 181,907,205 tonnes through April 2026, representing a slight decline of 0.3% compared with the same period last year. Despite the overall economic and geopolitical uncertainty, figures for the first four months of 2026 show a moderate decrease in traffic following the sharper declines recorded in January (-4.5%), February (-1.3%), and March (-1.3%).
General cargo slowed its decline and was down 0.5% through April, with more than 91.10 million tonnes handled. Conventional cargo increased by 0.1%, while containerised cargo recorded a drop of less than one percentage point (-0.8%).
TEUs posted a 4.2% increase -following the +3.6% recorded in March- surpassing 6.15 million units during the first four months of the year, supported by strong growth in transhipment traffic (6.1%) and import-export traffic (2.7%).
Liquid bulk cargo improved its performance, with 60.77 million tonnes handled, representing a 2.9% increase since January, driven by gasoline, fuel oil, natural gas, and chemical products. Solid bulk cargo moderated its decline, reaching a cumulative total of 25.05 million tonnes (-6.8%).
Ro-ro traffic slowed its decline through April (-1.4%), after sharper decreases in previous months, reaching 24.49 million tonnes.
The number of merchant vessels calling at Spanish ports fell by 4.4%, to 46,947 units, while gross tonnage declined by 1.7%.
Passenger traffic exceeded 10.45 million movements through April, representing a 1.9% decrease compared with the same period in 2025.
For more information: Puertos del Estado Monthly Statistics