2023 total
3.89 million new vehicles
First port · 2023
790,319 new vehicles
Series high, 2017–2025
3.89 million new vehicles
Passenger vehicles (the cars carried on ferries)
6.86 million vehicles
The 2023 balance
Spanish ports handled 3.89 million new vehicles in 2023, 44.1% more than in 2022 (1.19 million more). This is the year-end balance according to Puertos del Estado’s monthly statistics, with December data for the 28 port authorities.
It is the highest annual figure in the 2017–2025 series: no later year has exceeded it.
In the 2023 ranking, the ports moving up on 2022 are Barcelona (from 2nd to 1st), Vigo (from 3rd to 2nd) and Las Palmas (from 9th to 5th); those moving down are Valencia (from 1st to 3rd), Pasaia (from 5th to 6th) and Tarragona (from 6th to 7th).
Passenger vehicles (the cars carried on ferries): 6.86 million vehicles in 2023, 9.7% more than in 2022. Santa Cruz de Tenerife ranks first on this measure, with 1.8 million vehicles.
Barcelona ranks first among port authorities with 790,319 new vehicles in 2023 (34.3% more than in 2022). It is followed by Vigo (654,030 new vehicles) and Valencia (642,561 new vehicles). Together, the three account for 53.6% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Bilbao (+1,258.4%), Las Palmas (+721.0%) and Málaga (+46.2%). 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 Santander (4th, 447,006 new vehicles, +37.1%), Las Palmas (5th, 386,357 new vehicles, +721.0%), Pasaia (6th, 287,050 new vehicles, +19.6%), Tarragona (7th, 218,771 new vehicles, +27.1%), Bilbao (8th, 130,085 new vehicles, +1,258.4%), Baleares (9th, 127,162 new vehicles, +28.2%) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (10th, 79,468 new vehicles, +35.8%).
At the bottom of the table are Ferrol-San Cibrao (128 new vehicles), Cartagena (35 new vehicles) and Gijón (23 new vehicles), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.
The distribution is highly concentrated: the top five account for 75% of the total and 6 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 3.4%. 24 of the 25 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2022, 23 of them by double digits, and 1 fell.
Of the 12 months of 2023 with data, 11 are above the same month of 2022 and 1 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is up 17.8% on the same months of 2022; the largest year-on-year difference was in March (up 96%); the highest point in the series was March, at 388,993, and the lowest August, at 230,770.
Between 2017 and 2023 the figure went from 3.48 M to 3.89 M, an increase of 11.8% over 6 years (+1.9% a year on average); the last year is the high point of the series and the low was 2021 (2.42 M).
Top 10 · Ranking of port authorities · 2023
Month by month · 2023 vs 2022
Annual series, 2017–2023
Full table · 28 port authorities · 2023
| # | Port authorities | 2023 | Change on 2022 | 2022 | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 790,319 | +34.3% | 588,572 | 20.3% | Port |
| 2 | Vigo | 654,030 | +38.2% | 473,229 | 16.8% | Port |
| 3 | Valencia | 642,561 | +7.3% | 598,868 | 16.5% | Port |
| 4 | Santander | 447,006 | +37.1% | 325,930 | 11.5% | Port |
| 5 | Las Palmas | 386,357 | +721.0% | 47,059 | 9.9% | Port |
| 6 | Pasaia | 287,050 | +19.6% | 239,954 | 7.4% | Port |
| 7 | Tarragona | 218,771 | +27.1% | 172,164 | 5.6% | Port |
| 8 | Bilbao | 130,085 | +1,258.4% | 9,576 | 3.3% | Port |
| 9 | Baleares | 127,162 | +28.2% | 99,220 | 3.3% | Port |
| 10 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 79,468 | +35.8% | 58,498 | 2.0% | Port |
| 11 | Málaga | 67,566 | +46.2% | 46,201 | 1.7% | Port |
| 12 | Huelva | 20,876 | +59.9% | 13,059 | 0.5% | Port |
| 13 | Bahía de Cádiz | 19,600 | +17.9% | 16,624 | 0.5% | Port |
| 14 | Sevilla | 6,424 | +120.8% | 2,910 | 0.2% | Port |
| 15 | Bahía de Algeciras | 3,766 | +39.7% | 2,696 | 0.1% | Port |
| 16 | Ceuta | 2,650 | +137.0% | 1,118 | 0.1% | Port |
| 17 | Almería | 2,466 | +34.3% | 1,836 | 0.1% | Port |
| 18 | Alicante | 2,426 | +54.7% | 1,568 | 0.1% | Port |
| 19 | Melilla | 2,183 | −1.9% | 2,225 | 0.1% | Port |
| 20 | Motril | 1,300 | +2,141.4% | 58 | 0.0% | Port |
| 21 | Castellón | 1,089 | +112.3% | 513 | 0.0% | Port |
| 22 | Marín y Ría de Pontevedra | 272 | +1,713.3% | 15 | 0.0% | Port |
| 23 | Vilagarcía | 187 | +68.5% | 111 | 0.0% | Port |
| 24 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 128 | +2,033.3% | 6 | 0.0% | Port |
| 25 | Cartagena | 35 | +600.0% | 5 | 0.0% | Port |
| 26 | Gijón | 23 | — | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 27 | A Coruña | 0 | — | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 28 | Avilés | 0 | — | — | 0.0% | Port |
What this indicator measures
Puertos del Estado separates vehicles shipped as cargo (new vehicles exported or imported on car carriers or ro-ro ships) from vehicles travelling with passengers (the cars of ferry travellers). The first measures automotive industry logistics; the second follows passenger traffic to the Balearic and Canary Islands and across the Strait.
Frequently asked questions
Which was Spain’s first port by vehicles shipped as cargo in 2023?
Barcelona, with 790,319 new vehicles in 2023, 20.3% of the total.
What was the vehicles shipped as cargo figure for Spanish ports in 2023?
3.89 million new vehicles in 2023, 44.1% more than in 2022.
Was 2023 a record year?
Yes: 3.89 million new vehicles is the highest annual figure in the 2017–2025 series.
Source
Puertos del Estado. To explore the data in detail, use PortStats · vehicles as cargo, annual series or see the original source.