2019 total
90.8 million tonnes
First port · 2019
14.6 million tonnes
Series high, 2012–2025
102.4 million tonnes
Month with the highest figure
9.12 million tonnes
The 2019 balance
Spanish ports handled 90.8 million tonnes of dry bulk traffic in 2019, 11.3% less than in 2018 (11.5 million less). 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: 2019 was 11.3% below it and ranks 6th of the 14 years with data.
In the 2019 ranking, the ports moving up on 2018 are Tarragona (from 3rd to 2nd), Cartagena (from 6th to 5th) and Bilbao (from 9th to 7th); those moving down are Ferrol-San Cibrao (from 2nd to 3rd), Huelva (from 5th to 6th) and Almería (from 7th to 8th).
Gijón ranks first among port authorities with 14.6 million tonnes in 2019 (15.1% less than in 2018). It is followed by Tarragona (9.72 million) and Ferrol-San Cibrao (8.1 million). Together, the three account for 35.7% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Santander (+10.0%), Bahía de Cádiz (+7.1%) and Sevilla (+5.7%); the steepest falls by Bahía de Algeciras (−43.3%), Almería (−30.4%) and A Coruña (−28.4%). 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 Castellón (4th, 7.1 million, −4.4%), Cartagena (5th, 6.84 million, +3.6%), Huelva (6th, 5.76 million, −13.6%), Bilbao (7th, 4.68 million, −1.6%), Almería (8th, 4.41 million, −30.4%), Barcelona (9th, 4.07 million, −4.4%) and Santander (10th, 3.65 million, +10.0%).
At the bottom of the table are Vigo (297,778 tonnes), Ceuta (24,625 tonnes) and Melilla (7,100 tonnes), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.
The distribution is concentrated: the top five account for 51% of the total and 12 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 24.2%. 9 of the 28 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2018, 3 of them by double digits, and 19 fell.
Of the 12 months of 2019 with data, 3 are above the same month of 2018 and 9 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is down 18.9% on the same months of 2018; the largest year-on-year difference was in December (down 25.5%); the highest point in the series was January, at 9.12 M, and the lowest April, at 6.78 M.
Between 2012 and 2019 the figure went from 88.6 M to 90.8 M, an increase of 2.6% over 7 years (+0.4% a year on average). The best year was 2018 (102.4 M) and the worst 2013 (80.3 M).
Top 10 · Ranking of port authorities · 2019
Month by month · 2019 vs 2018
Annual series, 2012–2019
Full table · 28 port authorities · 2019
| # | Port authorities | 2019 | Change on 2018 | 2018 | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gijón | 14.6 M | −15.1% | 17.2 M | 16.1% | Port |
| 2 | Tarragona | 9.72 M | −2.7% | 9.99 M | 10.7% | Port |
| 3 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 8.1 M | −24.7% | 10.8 M | 8.9% | Port |
| 4 | Castellón | 7.1 M | −4.4% | 7.43 M | 7.8% | Port |
| 5 | Cartagena | 6.84 M | +3.6% | 6.6 M | 7.5% | Port |
| 6 | Huelva | 5.76 M | −13.6% | 6.66 M | 6.3% | Port |
| 7 | Bilbao | 4.68 M | −1.6% | 4.76 M | 5.2% | Port |
| 8 | Almería | 4.41 M | −30.4% | 6.34 M | 4.9% | Port |
| 9 | Barcelona | 4.07 M | −4.4% | 4.26 M | 4.5% | Port |
| 10 | Santander | 3.65 M | +10.0% | 3.31 M | 4.0% | Port |
| 11 | A Coruña | 3.47 M | −28.4% | 4.85 M | 3.8% | Port |
| 12 | Avilés | 2.8 M | −11.9% | 3.17 M | 3.1% | Port |
| 13 | Sevilla | 2.29 M | +5.7% | 2.17 M | 2.5% | Port |
| 14 | Valencia | 2.19 M | −13.9% | 2.54 M | 2.4% | Port |
| 15 | Bahía de Cádiz | 1.86 M | +7.1% | 1.74 M | 2.0% | Port |
| 16 | Málaga | 1.46 M | −14.0% | 1.7 M | 1.6% | Port |
| 17 | Alicante | 1.44 M | −9.5% | 1.59 M | 1.6% | Port |
| 18 | Baleares | 1.22 M | −13.6% | 1.42 M | 1.3% | Port |
| 19 | Pasaia | 1.03 M | +2.8% | 1.0 M | 1.1% | Port |
| 20 | Bahía de Algeciras | 973,830 | −43.3% | 1.72 M | 1.1% | Port |
| 21 | Marín y Ría de Pontevedra | 888,504 | −4.5% | 930,206 | 1.0% | Port |
| 22 | Motril | 618,405 | +10.7% | 558,495 | 0.7% | Port |
| 23 | Vilagarcía | 479,972 | +7.1% | 448,216 | 0.5% | Port |
| 24 | Las Palmas | 453,302 | −4.4% | 474,214 | 0.5% | Port |
| 25 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 421,960 | −5.6% | 446,926 | 0.5% | Port |
| 26 | Vigo | 297,778 | +9.5% | 271,820 | 0.3% | Port |
| 27 | Ceuta | 24,625 | −22.8% | 31,893 | 0.0% | Port |
| 28 | Melilla | 7,100 | +35.2% | 5,250 | 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 2019?
Gijón, with 14.6 million tonnes in 2019, 16.1% of the total.
What was the dry bulk traffic figure for Spanish ports in 2019?
90.8 million tonnes in 2019, 11.3% less than in 2018.
Was 2019 a record year?
No: the high point of the 2012–2025 series is 2018, with 102.4 million tonnes; 2019 was 11.3% below it.
Source
Puertos del Estado. To explore the data in detail, use PortStats · traffic by type of cargo, annual series or see the original source.