2019 total
17.5 million TEU
First port · 2019
5.44 million TEU
Series high, 2012–2025
18.6 million TEU
Transhipment TEU
9.41 million TEU
The 2019 balance
Spanish ports handled 17.5 million TEU in 2019, 1.8% more than in 2018 (306,438 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: 2019 was 6% below it and ranks 4th 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 2021, 2024 and 2025.
In the 2019 ranking, the ports moving up on 2018 are Vigo (from 8th to 7th) and Málaga (from 11th to 8th); those moving down are Castellón (from 7th to 9th) and Alicante (from 9th to 10th). The top three positions are unchanged.
Transhipment TEU: 9.41 million TEU in 2019, 1.5% more than in 2018. Bahía de Algeciras ranks first on this measure, with 4.42 million TEU.
Valencia ranks first among port authorities with 5.44 million TEU in 2019 (5% more than in 2018). It is followed by Bahía de Algeciras (5.13 million) and Barcelona (3.32 million). Together, the three account for 79.3% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Málaga (+67.3%), Bahía de Algeciras (+7.4%) and Valencia (+5.0%); the steepest falls by Santa Cruz de Tenerife (−19.2%), Las Palmas (−11.7%) and Castellón (−11.5%). 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, 1.01 million, −11.7%), Bilbao (5th, 628,426 TEU, −1.6%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (6th, 410,968 TEU, −19.2%), Vigo (7th, 216,500 TEU, −1.8%), Málaga (8th, 209,226 TEU, +67.3%), Castellón (9th, 202,828 TEU, −11.5%) and Alicante (10th, 171,270 TEU, +5.4%).
At the bottom of the table are Motril (613 TEU), A Coruña (6 TEU) and Avilés (4 TEU), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.
The distribution is highly concentrated: the top five account for 88.7% of the total and 4 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 4.4%. 10 of the 28 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2018, 6 of them by double digits, and 18 fell.
Of the 12 months of 2019 with data, 9 are above the same month of 2018 and 3 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is down 3.8% on the same months of 2018; the largest year-on-year difference was in January (up 7.7%); the highest point in the series was May, at 1.57 M, and the lowest December, at 1.34 M.
Between 2012 and 2019 the figure went from 14.1 M to 17.5 M, an increase of 24.3% over 7 years (+3.2% 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 · 2019
Month by month · 2019 vs 2018
Annual series, 2012–2019
Full table · 28 port authorities · 2019
| # | Port authorities | 2019 | Change on 2018 | 2018 | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valencia | 5.44 M | +5.0% | 5.18 M | 31.1% | Port |
| 2 | Bahía de Algeciras | 5.13 M | +7.4% | 4.77 M | 29.3% | Port |
| 3 | Barcelona | 3.32 M | −2.9% | 3.42 M | 19.0% | Port |
| 4 | Las Palmas | 1.01 M | −11.7% | 1.14 M | 5.8% | Port |
| 5 | Bilbao | 628,426 | −1.6% | 638,447 | 3.6% | Port |
| 6 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 410,968 | −19.2% | 508,891 | 2.3% | Port |
| 7 | Vigo | 216,500 | −1.8% | 220,466 | 1.2% | Port |
| 8 | Málaga | 209,226 | +67.3% | 125,035 | 1.2% | Port |
| 9 | Castellón | 202,828 | −11.5% | 229,093 | 1.2% | Port |
| 10 | Alicante | 171,270 | +5.4% | 162,571 | 1.0% | Port |
| 11 | Sevilla | 136,627 | −1.1% | 138,130 | 0.8% | Port |
| 12 | Baleares | 120,400 | −0.9% | 121,437 | 0.7% | Port |
| 13 | Marín y Ría de Pontevedra | 76,645 | −12.3% | 87,405 | 0.4% | Port |
| 14 | Gijón | 75,857 | −4.3% | 79,294 | 0.4% | Port |
| 15 | Huelva | 73,978 | +7.2% | 69,016 | 0.4% | Port |
| 16 | Cartagena | 67,606 | −19.7% | 84,156 | 0.4% | Port |
| 17 | Bahía de Cádiz | 57,839 | −15.6% | 68,544 | 0.3% | Port |
| 18 | Tarragona | 47,985 | −17.4% | 58,106 | 0.3% | Port |
| 19 | Vilagarcía | 41,257 | +17.7% | 35,039 | 0.2% | Port |
| 20 | Almería | 23,476 | +150.7% | 9,364 | 0.1% | Port |
| 21 | Melilla | 17,955 | −19.1% | 22,206 | 0.1% | Port |
| 22 | Santander | 14,316 | +35.8% | 10,539 | 0.1% | Port |
| 23 | Ceuta | 10,798 | −3.0% | 11,129 | 0.1% | Port |
| 24 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 8,278 | +82.7% | 4,532 | 0.0% | Port |
| 25 | Motril | 613 | +78.7% | 343 | 0.0% | Port |
| 26 | A Coruña | 6 | −77.8% | 27 | 0.0% | Port |
| 27 | Avilés | 4 | −20.0% | 5 | 0.0% | Port |
| 28 | Pasaia | 0 | −100.0% | 15 | 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 2019?
Valencia, with 5.44 million TEU in 2019, 31.1% of the total.
What was the container traffic figure for Spanish ports in 2019?
17.5 million TEU in 2019, 1.8% more than in 2018.
Was 2019 a record year?
At the time, yes: at the end of 2019, 17.5 million TEU was the highest annual figure in the series, which starts in 2012. It was later exceeded in 2021, 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.