Spanish ports on the rise
According to provisional data published by the Spanish state ports authority (Puertos del Estado), they handled 532.2 million t of merchandise, a surge of 5.3% compared to 2020. All sectors recorded increases. While conventional general cargo and solid bulk grew by 14.8% and 10.4% respectively, containerised cargo and liquid bulk improved more moderately (+2.4% each).
However, most of the cargo streams have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. In total, all ports handled 3.6% less cargo compared to 2019.
Nevertheless, general cargo was 0.8% above the level of 2019, driven by containerised cargo (+1.7%). Solid and liquid bulk volumes fell well below (–6.4% and –8.6% respectively). Ro-ro traffic (–0.7% compared to 2019) and containers in transit (–0.3%) have made a strong recoveries. (sh)