2016 total
15.2 million TEU
First port · 2016
4.76 million TEU
Series high, 2012–2025
18.6 million TEU
Transhipment TEU
7.92 million TEU
The 2016 balance
Spanish ports handled 15.2 million TEU in 2016, 6% more than in 2015 (861,060 TEU more). These are the final figures from Puertos del Estado’s statistical yearbook for the 28 port authorities.
The high point of the 2012–2025 series is 2025, with 18.6 million TEU: 2016 was 18.7% 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 Bahía de Algeciras (from 2nd to 1st), Castellón (from 8th to 7th) and Alicante (from 10th to 9th); those moving down are Valencia (from 1st to 2nd), Vigo (from 7th to 8th) and Sevilla (from 9th to 10th).
Transhipment TEU: 7.92 million TEU in 2016, 6.7% more than in 2015. Bahía de Algeciras ranks first on this measure, with 4.38 million TEU.
Bahía de Algeciras ranks first among port authorities with 4.76 million TEU in 2016 (5.4% more than in 2015). It is followed by Valencia (4.73 million) and Barcelona (2.24 million). Together, the three account for 77.4% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Alicante (+19.3%), Barcelona (+13.8%) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (+7.3%); the steepest falls by Bilbao (−4.9%) and Vigo (−2.5%). 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 Las Palmas (4th, 945,534 TEU, +4.9%), Bilbao (5th, 596,689 TEU, −4.9%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (6th, 370,645 TEU, +7.3%), Castellón (7th, 226,903 TEU, +5.7%), Vigo (8th, 218,044 TEU, −2.5%), Alicante (9th, 159,664 TEU, +19.3%) and Sevilla (10th, 145,672 TEU, −9.9%).
At the bottom of the table are Ferrol-San Cibrao (885 TEU), A Coruña (214 TEU) and Avilés (2 TEU), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.
The distribution is highly concentrated: the top five account for 87.6% of the total and 4 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 5%. 22 of the 27 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2015, 12 of them by double digits, and 5 fell.
Of the 12 months of 2016 with data, 12 are above the same month of 2015 and 0 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is up 4.5% on the same months of 2015; the largest year-on-year difference was in February (up 11.7%); the highest point in the series was August, at 1.33 M, and the lowest January, at 1.13 M.
Between 2012 and 2016 the figure went from 14.1 M to 15.2 M, an increase of 7.6% over 4 years (+1.8% a year on average); the last year is the high point of the series and the low was 2013 (13.9 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 | Bahía de Algeciras | 4.76 M | +5.4% | 4.52 M | 31.4% | Port |
| 2 | Valencia | 4.73 M | +2.5% | 4.62 M | 31.2% | Port |
| 3 | Barcelona | 2.24 M | +13.8% | 1.97 M | 14.8% | Port |
| 4 | Las Palmas | 945,534 | +4.9% | 901,101 | 6.2% | Port |
| 5 | Bilbao | 596,689 | −4.9% | 627,302 | 3.9% | Port |
| 6 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 370,645 | +7.3% | 345,457 | 2.4% | Port |
| 7 | Castellón | 226,903 | +5.7% | 214,663 | 1.5% | Port |
| 8 | Vigo | 218,044 | −2.5% | 223,699 | 1.4% | Port |
| 9 | Alicante | 159,664 | +19.3% | 133,880 | 1.1% | Port |
| 10 | Sevilla | 145,672 | −9.9% | 161,671 | 1.0% | Port |
| 11 | Baleares | 130,268 | +45.3% | 89,640 | 0.9% | Port |
| 12 | Málaga | 119,847 | +176.3% | 43,369 | 0.8% | Port |
| 13 | Cartagena | 96,127 | +4.8% | 91,726 | 0.6% | Port |
| 14 | Tarragona | 83,666 | −6.9% | 89,862 | 0.6% | Port |
| 15 | Bahía de Cádiz | 74,321 | +10.4% | 67,312 | 0.5% | Port |
| 16 | Marín y Ría de Pontevedra | 67,087 | +57.3% | 42,654 | 0.4% | Port |
| 17 | Gijón | 65,811 | +6.3% | 61,922 | 0.4% | Port |
| 18 | Melilla | 39,445 | +14.8% | 34,356 | 0.3% | Port |
| 19 | Vilagarcía | 32,323 | +5.7% | 30,573 | 0.2% | Port |
| 20 | Ceuta | 21,790 | +19.8% | 18,191 | 0.1% | Port |
| 21 | Huelva | 11,822 | +50.9% | 7,834 | 0.1% | Port |
| 22 | Pasaia | 6,818 | +108.8% | 3,266 | 0.0% | Port |
| 23 | Almería | 6,291 | +3.1% | 6,102 | 0.0% | Port |
| 24 | Motril | 2,626 | +1,335.0% | 183 | 0.0% | Port |
| 25 | Santander | 1,268 | +8.8% | 1,165 | 0.0% | Port |
| 26 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 885 | −7.6% | 958 | 0.0% | Port |
| 27 | A Coruña | 214 | +40.8% | 152 | 0.0% | Port |
| 28 | Avilés | 2 | — | 0 | 0.0% | Port |
What this indicator measures
The TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) is the standard measure of container traffic. Puertos del Estado counts every container handled, full and empty, and separates import and export boxes, domestic cabotage and transhipment containers, which arrive on one ship and leave on another without entering Spain. In Algeciras and Valencia transhipment makes up more than half of the total.
Frequently asked questions
Which was Spain’s first port by container traffic in 2016?
Bahía de Algeciras, with 4.76 million TEU in 2016, 31.4% of the total.
What was the container traffic figure for Spanish ports in 2016?
15.2 million TEU in 2016, 6% more than in 2015.
Was 2016 a record year?
At the time, yes: at the end of 2016, 15.2 million TEU 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 18.6 million TEU.
Source
Puertos del Estado. To explore the data in detail, use PortStats · containers or see the original source.