The general interest ports of the State moved 325.45 million tons of goods between January and July 2026, a figure that represents a growth of 0.4% compared to the same period of the previous year, when 324.11 million tons were recorded. The data published this Monday by Ports of the State show an uneven evolution among the different types of traffic, with increases in liquid bulk and containers measured in TEUs, against declines recorded in general cargo and solid bulk.
The accumulated volume represents 1.34 million tons more than in the first seven months of 2025. Only in July, the Spanish port system managed 47.68 million tons, compared to the 48.55 million recorded in the same month of the previous year.
General cargo, which accounts for just over half of port traffic, reached 164.09 million tons, with an annual reduction of 0.8%. Within this section, different behaviors are maintained between containerized and conventional cargo. The former fell by 1.5%, to 111.02 million tons, while conventional general cargo grew by 0.8%, with 53.07 million tons.
Liquid bulk recorded one of the main positive variations of the period, with 107.08 million tons, 3.4% more than the 103.57 million from the first seven months of 2025. This evolution is related to the behavior of products such as gasoline, fuel oil, and chemicals.
Conversely, solid bulk accumulated 45 million tons by July, compared to 46.26 million from the same period the previous year, which represents a decline of 2.7%. Movements of food products, including cereals and their flours, as well as fruits, vegetables, and legumes, were among the main traffics in this category.
The evolution of container traffic measured in TEUs maintained positive figures, although with a more moderate growth rate than in previous months. Spanish ports accounted for 11,002,672 TEUs between January and July, 1.2% more than the 10,875,361 TEUs recorded during the same period of 2025.
Import-export traffic was the component with the highest growth within this section, with 4.06 million TEUs and an increase of 1.9%. National origin-destination containers grew by 1.8%, to 1.26 million TEUs, while transit was at 5.68 million, 0.5% more.
In the case of the Bay of Algeciras, the statistics from Ports of the State record 2,760,323 TEUs accumulated by July, 1.1% more than the 2,729,367 recorded during the first seven months of the previous year. In July, the port facility managed 380,202 TEUs.
Ro-ro traffic stood at 44.81 million tons, with a decrease of 0.5% compared to the 45.05 million recorded by July 2025. In terms of intermodal transport units (UTIs), the port system recorded 1.91 million units, 1.2% less compared to the previous year.
The number of merchant ships that called at Spanish ports also decreased. Between January and July, 92,021 units were registered, 2.2% less than the 94,083 from the same period of 2025. The total gross tonnage reached 1,544 million GT, with a reduction of 0.8%. For its part, the number of recorded cruises was 2,828, 1.1% more.
Passenger movement exceeded 22.74 million travelers during the first seven months of the year, which represents a decrease of 1.1% compared to the same period of 2025. In the Bay of Algeciras, 3.19 million passengers were recorded by July, 2.7% less in year-on-year terms, according to the statistics from the public agency.
All data corresponding to the traffic of goods, containers, bulk, ships, and passengers at Spanish ports can be consulted at PortStats EED Data, the tool from El Estrecho Digital that allows access to and analyze the statistics of the general interest port system.
