2015 total
96 million tonnes
First port · 2015
18.9 million tonnes
Series high, 2012–2025
102.4 million tonnes
Month with the highest figure
9.28 million tonnes
The 2015 balance
Spanish ports handled 96 million tonnes of dry bulk traffic in 2015, 7.2% more than in 2014 (6.41 million more). This is the year-end balance according to Puertos del Estado’s monthly statistics, with December data for the 28 port authorities.
The high point of the 2012–2025 series is 2018, with 102.4 million tonnes: 2015 was 6.2% below it and ranks 4th of the 14 years with data. At the end of 2015 it was the highest figure in the series, which starts in 2012; it was later exceeded in 2017 and 2018.
In the 2015 ranking, the ports moving up on 2014 are Ferrol-San Cibrao (from 3rd to 2nd), Almería (from 8th to 4th) and A Coruña (from 9th to 7th); those moving down are Tarragona (from 2nd to 3rd), Cartagena (from 4th to 5th) and Bilbao (from 7th to 9th).
Gijón ranks first among port authorities with 18.9 million tonnes in 2015 (16.6% more than in 2014). It is followed by Ferrol-San Cibrao (9.84 million) and Tarragona (8.39 million). Together, the three account for 38.7% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Bahía de Algeciras (+32.9%), Almería (+30.8%) and Málaga (+25.1%); the steepest falls by Tarragona (−13.6%), Bahía de Cádiz (−8.6%) and Baleares (−7.9%). 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 Almería (4th, 5.76 million, +30.8%), Cartagena (5th, 5.55 million, +4.6%), Huelva (6th, 5.14 million, +10.2%), A Coruña (7th, 4.91 million, +14.0%), Castellón (8th, 4.64 million, +10.6%), Bilbao (9th, 4.53 million, −1.4%) and Barcelona (10th, 4.43 million, −7.1%).
At the bottom of the table are Vigo (287,939 tonnes), Ceuta (25,625 tonnes) and Melilla (3,425 tonnes), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.
The distribution is concentrated: the top five account for 50.5% of the total and 12 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 24.9%. 19 of the 28 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2014, 13 of them by double digits, and 9 fell.
Of the 12 months of 2015 with data, 11 are above the same month of 2014 and 1 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is up 5% on the same months of 2014; the largest year-on-year difference was in May (up 21.7%); the highest point in the series was October, at 9.28 M, and the lowest January, at 7.0 M.
Between 2012 and 2015 the figure went from 88.6 M to 96 M, an increase of 8.3% over 3 years (+2.7% a year on average); the last year is the high point of the series and the low was 2013 (80.3 M).
Top 10 · Ranking of port authorities · 2015
Month by month · 2015 vs 2014
Annual series, 2012–2015
Full table · 28 port authorities · 2015
| # | Port authorities | 2015 | Change on 2014 | 2014 | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gijón | 18.9 M | +16.6% | 16.2 M | 19.7% | Port |
| 2 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 9.84 M | +3.6% | 9.5 M | 10.3% | Port |
| 3 | Tarragona | 8.39 M | −13.6% | 9.71 M | 8.7% | Port |
| 4 | Almería | 5.76 M | +30.8% | 4.41 M | 6.0% | Port |
| 5 | Cartagena | 5.55 M | +4.6% | 5.31 M | 5.8% | Port |
| 6 | Huelva | 5.14 M | +10.2% | 4.66 M | 5.4% | Port |
| 7 | A Coruña | 4.91 M | +14.0% | 4.31 M | 5.1% | Port |
| 8 | Castellón | 4.64 M | +10.6% | 4.19 M | 4.8% | Port |
| 9 | Bilbao | 4.53 M | −1.4% | 4.59 M | 4.7% | Port |
| 10 | Barcelona | 4.43 M | −7.1% | 4.76 M | 4.6% | Port |
| 11 | Santander | 3.52 M | +10.3% | 3.19 M | 3.7% | Port |
| 12 | Avilés | 3.26 M | +8.2% | 3.01 M | 3.4% | Port |
| 13 | Valencia | 2.68 M | +0.2% | 2.68 M | 2.8% | Port |
| 14 | Bahía de Algeciras | 2.13 M | +32.9% | 1.6 M | 2.2% | Port |
| 15 | Sevilla | 2.07 M | +19.2% | 1.74 M | 2.2% | Port |
| 16 | Pasaia | 1.69 M | +12.3% | 1.51 M | 1.8% | Port |
| 17 | Bahía de Cádiz | 1.62 M | −8.6% | 1.78 M | 1.7% | Port |
| 18 | Málaga | 1.37 M | +25.1% | 1.1 M | 1.4% | Port |
| 19 | Alicante | 1.24 M | +12.1% | 1.11 M | 1.3% | Port |
| 20 | Baleares | 1.22 M | −7.9% | 1.32 M | 1.3% | Port |
| 21 | Marín y Ría de Pontevedra | 998,817 | +17.0% | 853,972 | 1.0% | Port |
| 22 | Las Palmas | 483,909 | +1.3% | 477,533 | 0.5% | Port |
| 23 | Motril | 452,358 | +5.0% | 430,807 | 0.5% | Port |
| 24 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 406,750 | −7.0% | 437,559 | 0.4% | Port |
| 25 | Vilagarcía | 403,439 | +24.9% | 323,047 | 0.4% | Port |
| 26 | Vigo | 287,939 | −3.8% | 299,331 | 0.3% | Port |
| 27 | Ceuta | 25,625 | −21.5% | 32,645 | 0.0% | Port |
| 28 | Melilla | 3,425 | −49.7% | 6,815 | 0.0% | Port |
What this indicator measures
Dry bulk is unpackaged cargo moved loose: coal, iron ore, cereals and animal feed, cement and clinker, fertilisers, scrap and salt. It is the traffic most closely linked to heavy industry, power generation and agriculture, and the one that has changed most with the closure of coal-fired power plants.
Frequently asked questions
Which was Spain’s first port by dry bulk traffic in 2015?
Gijón, with 18.9 million tonnes in 2015, 19.7% of the total.
What was the dry bulk traffic figure for Spanish ports in 2015?
96 million tonnes in 2015, 7.2% more than in 2014.
Was 2015 a record year?
At the time, yes: at the end of 2015, 96 million tonnes was the highest annual figure in the series, which starts in 2012. It was later exceeded in 2017 and 2018; the high point of the 2012–2025 series is 2018, with 102.4 million tonnes.
Source
Puertos del Estado. To explore the data in detail, use PortStats · traffic by type of cargo, annual series or see the original source.