Ro-ro traffic in Spanish ports in 2019: the year in review

Spanish ports handled 65.8 million tonnes of ro-ro traffic in 2019, 4.9% more than in 2018 (3.1 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: 2019 was 11.9% below it and ranks 5th of the 14 years with data. At the end of 2019 it was the highest figure in the series, which starts in 2012; it was later exceeded in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

The top ten positions in the 2019 ranking are the same, and in the same order, as in 2018.

Baleares ranks first among port authorities with 13.6 million tonnes in 2019 (5% more than in 2018). It is followed by Valencia (12.6 million) and Barcelona (11.6 million). Together, the three account for 57.4% of the total.

The largest increases were recorded by Santander (+18.9%), Bahía de Algeciras (+8.5%) and Valencia (+6.4%); the steepest falls by Bahía de Cádiz (−5.7%), Bilbao (−2.3%) and Ceuta (−1.5%). 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, 9.05 million, +8.5%), Las Palmas (5th, 4.45 million, +4.8%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (6th, 4.07 million, +4.8%), Santander (7th, 2.19 million, +18.9%), Vigo (8th, 1.13 million, +5.7%), Bahía de Cádiz (9th, 858,369 tonnes, −5.7%) and Bilbao (10th, 841,741 tonnes, −2.3%).

At the bottom of the table are Sevilla (161,050 tonnes), Ferrol-San Cibrao (50,936 tonnes) and Alicante (28,353 tonnes), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.

The distribution is highly concentrated: the top five account for 77.9% of the total and 6 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 8.2%. 13 of the 24 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2018, 4 of them by double digits, and 11 fell.

Of the 12 months of 2019 with data, 12 are above the same month of 2018 and 0 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is up 3.6% on the same months of 2018; the largest year-on-year difference was in July (up 8.4%); the highest point in the series was May, at 6.22 M, and the lowest August, at 4.72 M.

Between 2012 and 2019 the figure went from 41.7 M to 65.8 M, an increase of 57.8% over 7 years (+6.7% a year on average); the last year is the high point of the series and the low was 2012 (41.7 M).

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.

Puertos del Estado. To explore the data in detail, use PortStats · ro-ro traffic by port, annual series or see the original source.