Definition
An ITU, or intermodal transport unit, is each lorry, trailer, semi-trailer or flatbed trailer that boards a ro-ro ship with its load. It is the unit ports use to count lorry traffic.
In the broad sense, an intermodal transport unit is any box that can pass from one mode of transport to another without the goods inside being handled: a container, a swap body or a semi-trailer. Spanish port statistics reserve the abbreviation for ro-ro units and count containers in TEU.
The number of ITU is the most direct measure of exchange by road and sea between two shores. In the Strait of Gibraltar it reflects trade with Morocco: the lorries of fruit, vegetables, textiles and automotive components that cross every day.
The figure · August 2026
Year to date · January–August 2026
381,467 transport units (lorries, trailers and platforms)
August 2026 only
33,276 transport units (lorries, trailers and platforms)
First port
360,061 transport units (lorries, trailers and platforms)
In tonnes
9.02 million tonnes
Lorries across the Strait of Gibraltar in 2026
The Spanish ports on the Strait (Bahía de Algeciras, including Tarifa, and Ceuta) handled 381,467 transport units (lorries, trailers and platforms) in the year to August 2026, 0.7% more than in the same period of 2025. In August alone, the figure was 33,276 transport units (lorries, trailers and platforms), 1% more than in August 2025.
The full ranking, the trend and the table are in the indicator Lorries across the Strait of Gibraltar. To explore the data in detail, see PortStats · Bahía de Algeciras.