2022 total
94 million tonnes
First port · 2022
16.9 million tonnes
Series high, 2012–2025
102.4 million tonnes
Month with the highest figure
8.74 million tonnes
The 2022 balance
Spanish ports handled 94 million tonnes of dry bulk traffic in 2022, 10.6% more than in 2021 (9.0 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: 2022 was 8.2% below it and ranks 4th of the 14 years with data.
In the 2022 ranking, the ports moving up on 2021 are Tarragona (from 3rd to 2nd) and A Coruña (from 11th to 7th); those moving down are Castellón (from 2nd to 3rd) and Bilbao (from 7th to 10th).
Gijón ranks first among port authorities with 16.9 million tonnes in 2022 (19.2% more than in 2021). It is followed by Tarragona (9.32 million) and Castellón (9.16 million). Together, the three account for 37.7% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Bahía de Algeciras (+107.1%), A Coruña (+83.8%) and Bahía de Cádiz (+43.6%); the steepest falls by Bilbao (−19.3%), Sevilla (−17.3%) and Málaga (−8.4%). 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 Cartagena (4th, 7.37 million, +22.4%), Ferrol-San Cibrao (5th, 6.86 million, +14.4%), Huelva (6th, 5.71 million, +13.6%), A Coruña (7th, 5.39 million, +83.8%), Barcelona (8th, 4.55 million, +2.0%), Almería (9th, 3.91 million, −6.6%) and Bilbao (10th, 3.75 million, −19.3%).
At the bottom of the table are Vigo (304,134 tonnes), Melilla (27,555 tonnes) and Ceuta (5,856 tonnes), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.
The distribution is concentrated: the top five account for 52.8% of the total and 11 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 22.4%. 13 of the 28 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2021, 9 of them by double digits, and 15 fell.
Of the 12 months of 2022 with data, 11 are above the same month of 2021 and 1 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is up 12.7% on the same months of 2021; the largest year-on-year difference was in January (up 25.8%); the highest point in the series was October, at 8.74 M, and the lowest March, at 6.82 M.
Between 2012 and 2022 the figure went from 88.6 M to 94 M, an increase of 6.1% over 10 years (+0.6% 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 · 2022
Month by month · 2022 vs 2021
Annual series, 2012–2022
Full table · 28 port authorities · 2022
| # | Port authorities | 2022 | Change on 2021 | 2021 | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gijón | 16.9 M | +19.2% | 14.2 M | 18.0% | Port |
| 2 | Tarragona | 9.32 M | +20.4% | 7.74 M | 9.9% | Port |
| 3 | Castellón | 9.16 M | −2.4% | 9.39 M | 9.7% | Port |
| 4 | Cartagena | 7.37 M | +22.4% | 6.02 M | 7.8% | Port |
| 5 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 6.86 M | +14.4% | 5.99 M | 7.3% | Port |
| 6 | Huelva | 5.71 M | +13.6% | 5.03 M | 6.1% | Port |
| 7 | A Coruña | 5.39 M | +83.8% | 2.93 M | 5.7% | Port |
| 8 | Barcelona | 4.55 M | +2.0% | 4.46 M | 4.8% | Port |
| 9 | Almería | 3.91 M | −6.6% | 4.19 M | 4.2% | Port |
| 10 | Bilbao | 3.75 M | −19.3% | 4.65 M | 4.0% | Port |
| 11 | Santander | 3.41 M | −3.6% | 3.54 M | 3.6% | Port |
| 12 | Avilés | 2.8 M | −2.9% | 2.88 M | 3.0% | Port |
| 13 | Valencia | 2.26 M | +4.5% | 2.16 M | 2.4% | Port |
| 14 | Bahía de Cádiz | 1.88 M | +43.6% | 1.31 M | 2.0% | Port |
| 15 | Sevilla | 1.79 M | −17.3% | 2.16 M | 1.9% | Port |
| 16 | Alicante | 1.66 M | +27.6% | 1.3 M | 1.8% | Port |
| 17 | Bahía de Algeciras | 1.38 M | +107.1% | 664,448 | 1.5% | Port |
| 18 | Málaga | 1.37 M | −8.4% | 1.5 M | 1.5% | Port |
| 19 | Marín y Ría de Pontevedra | 1.04 M | +8.6% | 957,566 | 1.1% | Port |
| 20 | Pasaia | 904,069 | −18.1% | 1.1 M | 1.0% | Port |
| 21 | Motril | 650,395 | −12.3% | 741,508 | 0.7% | Port |
| 22 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 408,558 | −9.1% | 449,462 | 0.4% | Port |
| 23 | Vilagarcía | 401,187 | −5.8% | 425,965 | 0.4% | Port |
| 24 | Baleares | 382,225 | +7.2% | 356,648 | 0.4% | Port |
| 25 | Las Palmas | 362,686 | −14.4% | 423,729 | 0.4% | Port |
| 26 | Vigo | 304,134 | −9.8% | 337,330 | 0.3% | Port |
| 27 | Melilla | 27,555 | −30.1% | 39,438 | 0.0% | Port |
| 28 | Ceuta | 5,856 | −63.2% | 15,911 | 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 2022?
Gijón, with 16.9 million tonnes in 2022, 18% of the total.
What was the dry bulk traffic figure for Spanish ports in 2022?
94 million tonnes in 2022, 10.6% more than in 2021.
Was 2022 a record year?
No: the high point of the 2012–2025 series is 2018, with 102.4 million tonnes; 2022 was 8.2% 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.