The port of Barcelona weathers the trade war with more goods from Asia
Total infrastructure traffic fell by 1.7% from January to August.
BarcelonaTotal freight traffic entering and leaving the Port of Barcelona from January to August fell by 1.7% to 46,852,382 tons, compared to the same period last year. Container traffic, which includes empty, full, and in-traffic containers, also decreased. A total of 2,527,662 were moved through August, 5.2% less than in the first eight months of 2024.
However, in August, full container traffic remained on the rise, with a month-over-month increase due to infrastructure. This increase is particularly explained by due to the strong growth in imports arriving from Asian ports, especially from China (+13%), the ongoing trade war with the United States, and Bangladesh (+53%). However, the 11% increase from the rest of Spain is also notable. Regarding exports, the port of Barcelona also recorded positive figures, with a 5.4% increase. North Africa and the Persian Gulf were the destinations with the greatest growth in traffic.
These first eight months of the year also saw a significant increase in bulk liquid traffic (+18.8%), exceeding 11 million tons transported. This is explained by the good results of gasoline (+53%) and natural gas (+73%). In contrast, bulk solids maintained their downward trend and registered a 13.2% drop due to the decline in the main segments. The only exceptions in this category of goods were non-metallic minerals and other minerals and metallic waste, which increased by 133.3% and 63%, respectively.
If we focus on container traffic, which includes those transferred from one ship to another without being unloaded, it maintained its downward trend and fell by 23%. It should be noted that this surge was due to the readjustment of maritime routes as a result of the crisis in the Red Sea.
On the other hand, the rest of the freight traffic segments at the Port of Barcelona also recorded stagnant performance in August. Both short-sea maritime traffic and vehicles remained completely flat, with 293,210 intermodal transport units (ITUs) and 467,672 automobiles, respectively.
Passenger transport grows
Regarding passenger transport, a total of 1,337,223 people traveled by ferry to the Port of Barcelona through August, 1.9% more than the previous year. In this regard, the significant increase of 72.1% in passenger traffic to and from the ports of North Africa and the 9.4% decrease in the case of the ports of France and Italy were notable. Regarding cruise ships, 2.6 million movements were recorded, which translates to 1,543,234 people visiting the city through the Port of Barcelona.
