2016 total
53.4 million tonnes
First port · 2016
11.5 million tonnes
Series high, 2012–2025
74.7 million tonnes
Month with the highest figure
5.07 million tonnes
The 2016 balance
Spanish ports handled 53.4 million tonnes of ro-ro traffic in 2016, 4.5% more than in 2015 (2.29 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 2025, with 74.7 million tonnes: 2016 was 28.4% below it and ranks 10th of the 14 years with data. At the end of 2016 it was the highest figure in the series, which starts in 2012; it was later exceeded in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
In the 2016 ranking, the ports moving up on 2015 are Baleares (from 2nd to 1st); those moving down are Barcelona (from 1st to 2nd).
Baleares ranks first among port authorities with 11.5 million tonnes in 2016 (10.2% more than in 2015). It is followed by Barcelona (10.7 million) and Valencia (8.94 million). Together, the three account for 58.2% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Castellón (+27.6%), Baleares (+10.2%) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (+9.5%). 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 Bahía de Algeciras (4th, 7.42 million, +8.5%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (5th, 3.74 million, +9.5%), Las Palmas (6th, 3.33 million, +4.4%), Santander (7th, 1.41 million, +1.3%), Ceuta (8th, 1.04 million, +4.0%), Vigo (9th, 1.01 million, +7.2%) and Bahía de Cádiz (10th, 796,064 tonnes, +8.3%).
At the bottom of the table are Alicante (111,105 tonnes), Ferrol-San Cibrao (72,308 tonnes) and Gijón (4,361 tonnes), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.
The distribution is highly concentrated: the top five account for 79.1% of the total and 6 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 6.7%. 19 of the 24 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2015, 7 of them by double digits, and 5 fell.
Of the 12 months of 2016 with data, 9 are above the same month of 2015 and 3 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is down 1.9% on the same months of 2015; the largest year-on-year difference was in April (up 14.6%); the highest point in the series was May, at 5.07 M, and the lowest January, at 3.79 M.
Between 2012 and 2016 the figure went from 41.7 M to 53.4 M, an increase of 28.2% over 4 years (+6.4% a year on average); the last year is the high point of the series and the low was 2012 (41.7 M).
Top 10 · Ranking of port authorities · 2016
Month by month · 2016 vs 2015
Annual series, 2012–2016
Full table · 28 port authorities · 2016
| # | Port authorities | 2016 | Change on 2015 | 2015 | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baleares | 11.5 M | +10.2% | 10.4 M | 21.5% | Port |
| 2 | Barcelona | 10.7 M | +1.7% | 10.5 M | 20.0% | Port |
| 3 | Valencia | 8.94 M | +4.6% | 8.54 M | 16.7% | Port |
| 4 | Bahía de Algeciras | 7.42 M | +8.5% | 6.84 M | 13.9% | Port |
| 5 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 3.74 M | +9.5% | 3.42 M | 7.0% | Port |
| 6 | Las Palmas | 3.33 M | +4.4% | 3.19 M | 6.2% | Port |
| 7 | Santander | 1.41 M | +1.3% | 1.39 M | 2.6% | Port |
| 8 | Ceuta | 1.04 M | +4.0% | 995,197 | 1.9% | Port |
| 9 | Vigo | 1.01 M | +7.2% | 944,990 | 1.9% | Port |
| 10 | Bahía de Cádiz | 796,064 | +8.3% | 735,075 | 1.5% | Port |
| 11 | Castellón | 621,141 | +27.6% | 486,752 | 1.2% | Port |
| 12 | Pasaia | 598,521 | +1.9% | 587,619 | 1.1% | Port |
| 13 | Marín y Ría de Pontevedra | 521,997 | — | — | 1.0% | Port |
| 14 | Málaga | 521,997 | +4.4% | 499,850 | 1.0% | Port |
| 15 | Almería | 413,477 | +9.4% | 377,977 | 0.8% | Port |
| 16 | Motril | 359,156 | +65.5% | 216,980 | 0.7% | Port |
| 17 | Tarragona | 222,469 | +31.4% | 169,347 | 0.4% | Port |
| 18 | Huelva | 146,515 | −3.3% | 151,479 | 0.3% | Port |
| 19 | Alicante | 111,105 | +47.1% | 75,531 | 0.2% | Port |
| 20 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 72,308 | +18.6% | 60,946 | 0.1% | Port |
| 21 | Gijón | 4,361 | +105.5% | 2,122 | 0.0% | Port |
| 22 | A Coruña | 0 | — | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 23 | Avilés | 0 | — | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 24 | Bilbao | 0 | −100.0% | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 25 | Cartagena | 0 | −100.0% | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 26 | Melilla | 0 | −100.0% | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 27 | Sevilla | 0 | −100.0% | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 28 | Vilagarcía | 0 | — | — | 0.0% | Port |
What this indicator measures
Ro-ro (roll-on/roll-off) traffic is cargo that is driven on and off the ship: lorries, trailers, platforms and new vehicles. Puertos del Estado measures it in tonnes and in ITUs (intermodal transport units: each lorry, trailer or platform counts as one). It is the traffic of the Motorways of the Sea and of the lines to the Balearic and Canary Islands and North Africa.
Frequently asked questions
Which was Spain’s first port by ro-ro traffic in 2016?
Baleares, with 11.5 million tonnes in 2016, 21.5% of the total.
What was the ro-ro traffic figure for Spanish ports in 2016?
53.4 million tonnes in 2016, 4.5% more than in 2015.
Was 2016 a record year?
At the time, yes: at the end of 2016, 53.4 million tonnes was the highest annual figure in the series, which starts in 2012. It was later exceeded in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025; the high point of the 2012–2025 series is 2025, with 74.7 million tonnes.
Source
Puertos del Estado. To explore the data in detail, use PortStats · ro-ro traffic by port, annual series or see the original source.