According to the latest figures released by Puertos del Estado, Spanish ports handled 541.2 million tonnes (Mt) of cargo in 2025. This represents a marginal decline of 0.2% compared to 2024, while remaining 2.5% above 2023 levels.
Overall volumes have therefore stabilized, but the composition of traffic reveals important underlying shifts across cargo segments.
Liquid Bulk: Gas and Chemicals Offset Oil Declines
Liquid bulk traffic reached 180.4 Mt, an increase of 0.9% year-on-year. Growth in natural gas shipments — which climbed to 17.1 Mt (+18.4%) — and chemical products, totaling 23.4 Mt (+10.2%), compensated for weaker crude oil and petroleum product flows.
Crude and refined products, which remain the largest component within liquid bulk, declined to 126.3 Mt (-2.0%). The data reflects continued adjustments in energy trade flows and demand patterns.
Solid Bulk: Mixed Performance
Solid bulk traffic totaled 81.9 Mt, down 3.4% compared to 2024. The contraction was largely driven by lower volumes of cereals and related products, as well as coal and petroleum coke.
However, not all segments moved in the same direction. Iron ore traffic rose sharply to 7.1 Mt (+21.3%), while non-metallic minerals reached 16.0 Mt (+4.6%). Cement and clinker shipments also increased to 8.1 Mt (+7.8%), indicating resilience in certain industrial flows.
General Cargo: Marginal Growth with Container Weakness
General cargo volumes amounted to 278.9 Mt, up slightly by 0.1% year-on-year.
Growth in vehicle traffic and transport equipment, along with feed and fodder products, offset declines in processed construction materials and fresh produce. Conventional general cargo rose to 88.6 Mt (+3.6%), whereas containerized cargo fell by 1.4%, reaching 190.3 Mt.
The divergence between conventional and containerized traffic suggests a degree of normalization following recent volatility in global container markets.
Passenger and Ro-Ro Traffic Continue Expanding
Regular line passenger traffic reached a new historic high in 2025, totaling 28.4 million passengers (+1.4%). Meanwhile, ro-ro cargo traffic grew to 72.7 Mt, marking a 2.8% increase over the previous year.
These figures underline the continued strength of short-sea shipping and ferry connections, particularly within European and Mediterranean trade corridors.
External Trade: Imports Stable, Exports Under Pressure
In terms of foreign trade, imports amounted to 195.7 Mt, a modest 0.3% increase year-on-year.
Liquid bulk imports — representing more than half of total inbound volumes — rose to 102.5 Mt (+0.8%). General cargo imports increased to 40.8 Mt (+4.1%). By contrast, solid bulk imports declined to 52.4 Mt (-3.5%).
Exports, however, showed a weaker performance. Total outbound cargo reached 87.1 Mt, down 2.7% compared to 2024. While general cargo exports expanded to 44.3 Mt (+4.0%), both liquid bulk (21.8 Mt; -12.4%) and solid bulk (21.0 Mt; -4.5%) registered significant declines.
A Year of Stability with Sectoral Rebalancing
The 2025 data points to overall stability in total port throughput, but also to structural adjustments within cargo categories. Energy flows are evolving, container volumes are softening slightly, and certain industrial bulk segments are gaining momentum.
Spanish ports remain resilient in aggregate terms. However, the underlying composition of traffic suggests that sectoral dynamics — particularly in energy and export markets — will continue shaping performance in the years ahead.