2017 total
16 million TEU
First port · 2017
4.83 million TEU
Series high, 2012–2025
18.6 million TEU
Transhipment TEU
8.5 million TEU
The 2017 balance
Spanish ports handled 16 million TEU in 2017, 5.3% more than in 2016 (797,332 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: 2017 was 14.4% below it and ranks 9th of the 14 years with data. At the end of 2017 it was the highest figure in the series, which starts in 2012; it was later exceeded in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
In the 2017 ranking, the ports moving up on 2016 are Valencia (from 2nd to 1st) and Baleares (from 11th to 10th); those moving down are Bahía de Algeciras (from 1st to 2nd).
Transhipment TEU: 8.5 million TEU in 2017, 7.3% more than in 2016. Bahía de Algeciras ranks first on this measure, with 4.01 million TEU.
Valencia ranks first among port authorities with 4.83 million TEU in 2017 (2.1% more than in 2016). It is followed by Bahía de Algeciras (4.39 million) and Barcelona (2.97 million). Together, the three account for 76.4% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Barcelona (+32.7%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (+26.0%) and Las Palmas (+25.1%); the steepest falls by Bahía de Algeciras (−7.8%). 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, 1.18 million, +25.1%), Bilbao (5th, 604,871 TEU, +1.4%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (6th, 467,144 TEU, +26.0%), Castellón (7th, 240,895 TEU, +6.2%), Vigo (8th, 219,438 TEU, +0.6%), Alicante (9th, 164,410 TEU, +3.0%) and Baleares (10th, 120,762 TEU, −7.3%).
At the bottom of the table are Ferrol-San Cibrao (455 TEU), Pasaia (8 TEU) and A Coruña (3 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 4.8%. 16 of the 28 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2016, 9 of them by double digits, and 12 fell.
Of the 12 months of 2017 with data, 10 are above the same month of 2016 and 2 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is up 7.9% on the same months of 2016; the largest year-on-year difference was in November (up 12.2%); the highest point in the series was May, at 1.44 M, and the lowest February, at 1.11 M.
Between 2012 and 2017 the figure went from 14.1 M to 16 M, an increase of 13.3% over 5 years (+2.5% 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 · 2017
Month by month · 2017 vs 2016
Annual series, 2012–2017
Full table · 28 port authorities · 2017
| # | Port authorities | 2017 | Change on 2016 | 2016 | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valencia | 4.83 M | +2.1% | 4.73 M | 30.3% | Port |
| 2 | Bahía de Algeciras | 4.39 M | −7.8% | 4.76 M | 27.5% | Port |
| 3 | Barcelona | 2.97 M | +32.7% | 2.24 M | 18.6% | Port |
| 4 | Las Palmas | 1.18 M | +25.1% | 945,534 | 7.4% | Port |
| 5 | Bilbao | 604,871 | +1.4% | 596,689 | 3.8% | Port |
| 6 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 467,144 | +26.0% | 370,645 | 2.9% | Port |
| 7 | Castellón | 240,895 | +6.2% | 226,903 | 1.5% | Port |
| 8 | Vigo | 219,438 | +0.6% | 218,044 | 1.4% | Port |
| 9 | Alicante | 164,410 | +3.0% | 159,664 | 1.0% | Port |
| 10 | Baleares | 120,762 | −7.3% | 130,268 | 0.8% | Port |
| 11 | Sevilla | 105,566 | −27.5% | 145,672 | 0.7% | Port |
| 12 | Cartagena | 89,931 | −6.4% | 96,127 | 0.6% | Port |
| 13 | Marín y Ría de Pontevedra | 88,938 | +32.6% | 67,087 | 0.6% | Port |
| 14 | Málaga | 86,247 | −28.0% | 119,847 | 0.5% | Port |
| 15 | Bahía de Cádiz | 82,188 | +10.6% | 74,321 | 0.5% | Port |
| 16 | Gijón | 76,348 | +16.0% | 65,811 | 0.5% | Port |
| 17 | Tarragona | 62,888 | −24.8% | 83,666 | 0.4% | Port |
| 18 | Huelva | 58,166 | +392.0% | 11,822 | 0.4% | Port |
| 19 | Melilla | 36,421 | −7.7% | 39,445 | 0.2% | Port |
| 20 | Vilagarcía | 34,508 | +6.8% | 32,323 | 0.2% | Port |
| 21 | Ceuta | 16,036 | −26.4% | 21,790 | 0.1% | Port |
| 22 | Motril | 8,770 | +234.0% | 2,626 | 0.1% | Port |
| 23 | Santander | 6,945 | +447.7% | 1,268 | 0.0% | Port |
| 24 | Almería | 6,606 | +5.0% | 6,291 | 0.0% | Port |
| 25 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 455 | −48.6% | 885 | 0.0% | Port |
| 26 | Pasaia | 8 | −99.9% | 6,818 | 0.0% | Port |
| 27 | A Coruña | 3 | −98.6% | 214 | 0.0% | Port |
| 28 | Avilés | 0 | −100.0% | 2 | 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 2017?
Valencia, with 4.83 million TEU in 2017, 30.3% of the total.
What was the container traffic figure for Spanish ports in 2017?
16 million TEU in 2017, 5.3% more than in 2016.
Was 2017 a record year?
At the time, yes: at the end of 2017, 16 million TEU was the highest annual figure in the series, which starts in 2012. It was later exceeded in 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.