2021 total
85 million tonnes
First port · 2021
14.2 million tonnes
Series high, 2012–2025
102.4 million tonnes
Month with the highest figure
8.1 million tonnes
The 2021 balance
Spanish ports handled 85 million tonnes of dry bulk traffic in 2021, 10.3% more than in 2020 (7.91 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: 2021 was 17% below it and ranks 10th of the 14 years with data.
In the 2021 ranking, the ports moving up on 2020 are Bilbao (from 8th to 7th); those moving down are Barcelona (from 7th to 8th). The top three positions are unchanged.
Gijón ranks first among port authorities with 14.2 million tonnes in 2021 (4.4% more than in 2020). It is followed by Castellón (9.39 million) and Tarragona (7.74 million). Together, the three account for 36.9% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Castellón (+39.5%), Bilbao (+26.8%) and Almería (+21.0%); the steepest falls by Bahía de Cádiz (−9.4%), Cartagena (−6.9%) and Alicante (−6.9%). 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 Cartagena (4th, 6.02 million, −6.9%), Ferrol-San Cibrao (5th, 5.99 million, −5.9%), Huelva (6th, 5.03 million, +2.9%), Bilbao (7th, 4.65 million, +26.8%), Barcelona (8th, 4.46 million, +11.1%), Almería (9th, 4.19 million, +21.0%) and Santander (10th, 3.54 million, +16.9%).
At the bottom of the table are Vigo (337,330 tonnes), Melilla (39,438 tonnes) and Ceuta (15,911 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 11 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 23.3%. 21 of the 28 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2020, 15 of them by double digits, and 7 fell.
Of the 12 months of 2021 with data, 9 are above the same month of 2020 and 3 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is up 4.4% on the same months of 2020; the largest year-on-year difference was in May (up 35.1%); the highest point in the series was August, at 8.1 M, and the lowest February, at 6.05 M.
Between 2012 and 2021 the figure went from 88.6 M to 85 M, a decrease of 4.1% over 9 years (−0.5% a year on average). The best year was 2018 (102.4 M) and the worst 2020 (77.1 M).
Top 10 · Ranking of port authorities · 2021
Month by month · 2021 vs 2020
Annual series, 2012–2021
Full table · 28 port authorities · 2021
| # | Port authorities | 2021 | Change on 2020 | 2020 | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gijón | 14.2 M | +4.4% | 13.6 M | 16.7% | Port |
| 2 | Castellón | 9.39 M | +39.5% | 6.73 M | 11.0% | Port |
| 3 | Tarragona | 7.74 M | +19.5% | 6.48 M | 9.1% | Port |
| 4 | Cartagena | 6.02 M | −6.9% | 6.47 M | 7.1% | Port |
| 5 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 5.99 M | −5.9% | 6.37 M | 7.1% | Port |
| 6 | Huelva | 5.03 M | +2.9% | 4.89 M | 5.9% | Port |
| 7 | Bilbao | 4.65 M | +26.8% | 3.67 M | 5.5% | Port |
| 8 | Barcelona | 4.46 M | +11.1% | 4.01 M | 5.2% | Port |
| 9 | Almería | 4.19 M | +21.0% | 3.46 M | 4.9% | Port |
| 10 | Santander | 3.54 M | +16.9% | 3.03 M | 4.2% | Port |
| 11 | A Coruña | 2.93 M | +15.1% | 2.55 M | 3.5% | Port |
| 12 | Avilés | 2.88 M | +14.3% | 2.52 M | 3.4% | Port |
| 13 | Sevilla | 2.16 M | −2.6% | 2.22 M | 2.5% | Port |
| 14 | Valencia | 2.16 M | +16.1% | 1.86 M | 2.5% | Port |
| 15 | Málaga | 1.5 M | +5.1% | 1.43 M | 1.8% | Port |
| 16 | Bahía de Cádiz | 1.31 M | −9.4% | 1.44 M | 1.5% | Port |
| 17 | Alicante | 1.3 M | −6.9% | 1.4 M | 1.5% | Port |
| 18 | Pasaia | 1.1 M | +9.4% | 1.01 M | 1.3% | Port |
| 19 | Marín y Ría de Pontevedra | 957,566 | +10.7% | 865,207 | 1.1% | Port |
| 20 | Motril | 741,508 | +37.6% | 538,875 | 0.9% | Port |
| 21 | Bahía de Algeciras | 664,448 | +20.2% | 552,762 | 0.8% | Port |
| 22 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 449,462 | +18.9% | 378,025 | 0.5% | Port |
| 23 | Vilagarcía | 425,965 | +35.6% | 314,247 | 0.5% | Port |
| 24 | Las Palmas | 423,729 | +6.8% | 396,918 | 0.5% | Port |
| 25 | Baleares | 356,648 | −32.0% | 524,598 | 0.4% | Port |
| 26 | Vigo | 337,330 | +12.1% | 300,986 | 0.4% | Port |
| 27 | Melilla | 39,438 | +4.9% | 37,604 | 0.0% | Port |
| 28 | Ceuta | 15,911 | −23.1% | 20,697 | 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 2021?
Gijón, with 14.2 million tonnes in 2021, 16.7% of the total.
What was the dry bulk traffic figure for Spanish ports in 2021?
85 million tonnes in 2021, 10.3% more than in 2020.
Was 2021 a record year?
No: the high point of the 2012–2025 series is 2018, with 102.4 million tonnes; 2021 was 17% 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.