Strong reduction of containers in transhipment (-27.8%) partially balanced by the growth of those in import-export (+2.5%)
After the decrease of -1.8% recorded in the first quarter of this year, in the next quarter the decline in goods traffic in the port of Barcelona has intensified, with 17.65 million tons of cargo handled in the period, a decrease of -4.5% compared to the second quarter of 2024. This was mainly caused by the reduction in containerized goods volumes, which amounted to 8.55 million tons (-16.3%), and was realized with a sharp drop in container handling. Solid bulk cargo also saw a significant decline, totaling 832 thousand tons (-33.6%), including 347 thousand tons of soybeans (-11.7%), 132 thousand tons of potash (-13.4%), 115 thousand tons of cement and clinker (-52.4%), and 89 thousand tons of cereals and flours (-63.0%). Liquid bulk cargo increased by +33.1%, reaching 5.40 million tons, of which 3.81 million tons were hydrocarbons (+57.1%) and 1.23 million tons were other bulk cargo (-9.6%). Conventional goods remained stable at 3.23 million tons (+0.4%). New car traffic totaled 194 thousand vehicles (-4.5%).
Passenger traffic increased, with a total of 1.34 million cruise passengers (+17.3%) and 439 thousand ferry passengers (+6.1%).
In the first six months of 2025, goods traffic handled by the Catalan port totaled 33.86 million tons, a decrease of -3.2% compared to the first half of the previous year. In the container segment, 17.79 million tons (-10.7%) were handled, with 1.85 million TEU containers passing through the port docks (-7.3%). This traffic was characterized by a reduction in transhipment containers (752 thousand TEU, -21.3%) and an increase in import-export containers (1.09 million TEU, +5.6%). Conventional goods totaled 5.99 million tons (+0.5%). New car handling reached 363 thousand vehicles (-6.5%). In the bulk segment, liquid cargo amounted to 8.25 million tons (+22.1%), while solid cargo totaled 1.82 million tons (-21.9%).
In the first half of this year, cruise passengers numbered 1.69 million (+15.7%), while ferry passengers totaled 653 thousand (-1.4%).
