Year to date · January–August 2026
6.47 million TEU
August 2026 only
787,236 TEU
First port
2.73 million TEU
Containerised cargo in transhipment
73.8 million tonnes
What the data say · August 2026
Spanish ports handled 6.47 million TEU in the year to August 2026, 0.3% less than in the same period of 2025. In August alone, the figure was 787,236 TEU, 6.2% less than in August 2025.
In August, 8 of the 16 port authorities with data improved on their August 2025 figure.
Containerised cargo in transhipment: 73.8 million tonnes in the year to August 2026, 2.3% less than a year earlier. Bahía de Algeciras ranks first on this measure, with 30.6 million tonnes.
Bahía de Algeciras ranks first among port authorities with 2.73 million TEU in the year to August 2026 (0.9% more than a year earlier). It is followed by Valencia (1.59 million) and Barcelona (1.07 million). Together, the three account for 83.3% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Málaga (+12.8%), Las Palmas (+4.4%) and Barcelona (+2.4%); the steepest falls by Valencia (−10.1%). The comparison is limited to port authorities that account for at least 1% of the total, so that an extreme swing at a small player does not distort the picture.
The rest of the top ten are Las Palmas (4th, 645,177 TEU, +4.4%), Málaga (5th, 237,798 TEU, +12.8%), Castellón (6th, 31,192 TEU, +382.9%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (7th, 30,252 TEU, −45.8%), Alicante (8th, 30,009 TEU, +2,865.3%), Santander (9th, 25,937 TEU, +49.1%) and Huelva (10th, 23,277 TEU, +4.6%).
At the bottom of the table are Vilagarcía (84 TEU), Baleares (6 TEU) and Sevilla (1 TEU), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.
The distribution is highly concentrated: the top five account for 96.9% of the total and 3 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 0.9%. 14 of the 20 port authorities with a comparison grew year on year, 9 of them by double digits, and 6 fell.
Top 10 · Ranking of port authorities · year to date 2026
What this indicator measures
Transhipment TEU are containers that arrive on one ship and leave on another without entering Spain: the relay between major ocean routes and regional services. Puertos del Estado counts them in TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) and also publishes the tonnes of containerised cargo in transhipment. This is the traffic that distinguishes hub ports from gateway ports, which serve the cargo of their hinterland.
Full table · 28 port authorities
| # | Port authorities | Jan–Aug 2026 | YoY change | August | Monthly change | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bahía de Algeciras | 2.73 M | +0.9% | 340,076 | −1.2% | 42.2% | Port |
| 2 | Valencia | 1.59 M | −10.1% | 185,372 | −15.3% | 24.5% | Port |
| 3 | Barcelona | 1.07 M | +2.4% | 118,356 | −18.8% | 16.6% | Port |
| 4 | Las Palmas | 645,177 | +4.4% | 98,245 | +6.2% | 10.0% | Port |
| 5 | Málaga | 237,798 | +12.8% | 28,339 | +3.3% | 3.7% | Port |
| 6 | Castellón | 31,192 | +382.9% | 1,184 | +120.1% | 0.5% | Port |
| 7 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 30,252 | −45.8% | 2,686 | +19.2% | 0.5% | Port |
| 8 | Alicante | 30,009 | +2,865.3% | 4,440 | +2,044.7% | 0.5% | Port |
| 9 | Santander | 25,937 | +49.1% | 3,782 | +48.6% | 0.4% | Port |
| 10 | Huelva | 23,277 | +4.6% | 1,832 | +187.2% | 0.4% | Port |
| 11 | Bilbao | 17,977 | +752.8% | 477 | +350.6% | 0.3% | Port |
| 12 | Bahía de Cádiz | 13,659 | +6.0% | 1,395 | −27.7% | 0.2% | Port |
| 13 | Vigo | 12,903 | −22.2% | 921 | −55.2% | 0.2% | Port |
| 14 | Marín y Ría de Pontevedra | 6,098 | +2,150.2% | 79 | — | 0.1% | Port |
| 15 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 5,705 | −32.0% | 0 | −100.0% | 0.1% | Port |
| 16 | Cartagena | 1,104 | +54.6% | 0 | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 17 | Gijón | 330 | +93.0% | 26 | −40.9% | 0.0% | Port |
| 18 | Tarragona | 216 | — | 14 | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 19 | Vilagarcía | 84 | +279.5% | 13 | −35.0% | 0.0% | Port |
| 20 | Baleares | 6 | −40.0% | 0 | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 21 | Sevilla | 1 | — | 0 | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 22 | A Coruña | 0 | — | 0 | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 23 | Almería | 0 | −100.0% | 0 | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 24 | Avilés | 0 | — | 0 | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 25 | Ceuta | 0 | — | 0 | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 26 | Melilla | 0 | — | 0 | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 27 | Motril | 0 | — | 0 | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 28 | Pasaia | 0 | — | 0 | — | 0.0% | Port |
Context
Transhipment is concentrated in very few ports, above all Bahía de Algeciras and Valencia, where transhipment accounts for more than half of their containers. It depends on where shipping lines and their alliances choose to relay cargo, so it can change sharply from one year to the next when a service moves its call, and it is sensitive to Red Sea route diversions.
Frequently asked questions
Which Spanish port handles the most transhipment containers?
Bahía de Algeciras, with 2.73 million TEU in the year to August 2026, 42.2% of the total.
How many transhipment TEU have Spanish ports handled this year?
6.47 million TEU in the year to August 2026, 0.3% less than in the same period of 2025.
When is this data updated?
Puertos del Estado publishes the data every month. Latest data available: August 2026.
Source
Puertos del Estado. To explore the data in detail, use PortStats · transhipped cargo, annual series or see the original source.