Spanish port traffic sets new historical highs in the first half of 2018

Madrid, Spain (Ports Europe) September 18, 2018 - Port traffic continues its upward trend and reaching historic highs, responding to the good performance of the Spanish economy. Thus, the 277.7 million tons moved in the first half of 2018 was an increase of 6%, compared to 2017, surpassing the record set last year in which they reached 261.8 million. Likewise, the June 2018, with 45.3 million tons, was the best month in the historical series. General merchandise was 133 million tons, up 8.2% with respect to the previous year, representing 48% of the total, of which 75%, 94.6 million, was transported in containers. Liquid bulk, the second largest merchandise group, with more than 89 million tons, experienced a rise of 3.5%, and solid bulks, with 49.5 million tons, grew by 6.1% compared to the first semester of 2017. The relevance of Spain as a logistics platform for maritime traffic between continents, both the peninsular ports and those of the Canary archipelago, is evident in the nearly 73 million tons of goods in transit (+12.7%), which means that 1 out of every 4 tons that move through our ports have as origin/destination another port/country. In addition, the ship's alternative for long ground routes continues to gain, so that ro-ro traffic (trucks loaded with goods that are shipped in ports) continues to grow at a rate of 6%, to exceed 30.7 million tons transported by this means. Regarding passenger traffic, the regular lines between the peninsula and the islands as well as inter-islands, exceeded 9.9 million passengers, 3.8% more than the previous year. However, cruise passenger traffic, in line with the increase in tourists that has been experienced in recent years, has grown by 23.5%, surpassing the 4.4 million cruise passengers. By Autonomous Communities, the ports of general interest of in Andalusia, with 80.2 million tons, were the ones that moved more merchandise, thanks mainly to the Port Authority of Algeciras, which managed more than 67% of the goods, being also the national leader with its 53.8 million tons. Equally important are the ports of Motril and Almeria, due to the significant growth experienced, +33% and +11.2%, respectively. Next in importance are the ports of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, with 49.9 million tons, with Barcelona, with 33.8 million tons, the second largest national port experienced, +17.8%. The Autonomous Community of Valencia, with 49.1 million tons, is the third in relevance, placing the Port Authority of Valencia in second place in the national ranking with more than 37.3 million tons. The ports of general interest of the Canary Islands, with the Port Authorities of Las Palmas and SC Tenerife, moved 19.9 million tons of goods and more than 1.3 million cruise passengers, the Autonomous Community with the largest number of cruise passengers. The Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, with the ports of general interest of Bilbao and Pasaia, moved 19.3 million tons, with a joint increase of 11.5%, thus doubling the national average. The five Galician ports of general interest moved 18.3 million tons, with the ports of A Coruña and Marín and Ría de Pontevedra as protagonists of important growth. The port of Cartagena, the only one of general interest in Murcia, moved 16.4 million tons, which has placed it in 5th place in the national ranking. In the Principality of Asturias, the ports of Avilés and Gijón moved 11.9 million tons, highlighting the significant growth of Avilés, + 10.4%. In Cantabria, the port of Santander moved 2.8 million tons, which represented an increase of 13.1%. The ports of the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta and Melilla moved 1.2 million and 438,616 tons, respectively. Source: Puertos del Estado Copyright (C) Ports Europe. All Rights Reserved. 2018.

Spanish port traffic sets new historical highs in the first half of 2018

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Spanish port traffic sets new historical highs in the first half of 2018

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