The state-owned ports of general interest recorded a movement of 41,197,256 tons during January 2026, a figure that represents a decrease of 4.5% compared to the same period of the previous year. The drop is mainly due to the impact of successive storms that have affected the different Spanish maritime facades in the first weeks of the year, with particular incidence in the Strait of Gibraltar, where there were occasional closures and notable operational difficulties at the port facilities.
The start of the 2026 fiscal year comes after a 2025 close in which Spanish ports managed over 556.5 million tons, representing a slight decrease of 0.2% compared to the 557.7 million recorded in 2024, although last year reached record figures both in general cargo and TEUs. The adverse weather conditions at the beginning of this year are compounded by a context of global economic uncertainty that is affecting the evolution of practically all traffic segments.
In the general cargo section, January recorded a decrease of 8.1% compared to the same month in 2025, with a movement close to 20 million tons. Conventional cargo fell by 7.8%, standing at 6.1 million tons, while containerized cargo experienced a drop of 8.2%, with 13.8 million tons handled. Regarding container traffic measured in TEUs, the decrease was 4.2%, with a total of 1.3 million equivalent units.
Solid bulk goods were the positive exception of the month, with a growth of 1.4% and a total volume of 6.2 million tons. This favorable performance is mainly explained by the recovery of traffic in cereals and fruits, to which an improvement in coal movement was also added. On the other hand, liquid bulk goods did not share the same fortune and closed January with a decrease of 2.4%, accumulating 13.7 million tons.
Ro-ro traffic significantly felt the effect of the storms, with a drop of 8.9% and a total of 5.2 million tons managed compared to January 2025. This segment, particularly sensitive to weather conditions due to its dependence on regular connections with ferry lines and roll-on/roll-off transport, was particularly affected by the operational closures recorded in the Strait.
Regarding maritime traffic, the number of merchant ships that docked at Spanish ports during January decreased by 8.4%, with a total of 11,190 units, while their gross tonnage decreased by 3.4%.
As a positive note, passenger traffic managed to end the month on a positive note with an increase of 0.6% compared to January 2025, surpassing 2.4 million movements, indicating that the demand for maritime passenger transport continues its growth trend despite the weather difficulties.