Port of Barcelona Sets Record Figures in 2016

Spanish Port of Barcelona closed the financial year 2016 with record figures the volume of containerised foreign trade cargo, total vehicles and passenger movements.

During 2016, foreign trade containers continued to increase ending the year at a total of 1.2 million TEUs. Export container numbers grew by 3.8% while import containers advanced at a rate of 8.7%. Meanwhile, containerised cargo in cabotage to the Spanish islands surged 10% to 124,455 TEUs and containers in transhipment increased by 47% to 431,750 TEUs.

Regarding total containers the port moved more than 2.2 million TEUs, representing an increase of 14.5%, the highest in the last decade, according to the Port of Barcelona.

Vehicle movements at the port grew 4% in 2016 to reach a record 916,834 units. Most of these are foreign trade as exports grew by 3%, while imports surged by 20%.

The port also saw an increase in passenger movements with nearly 4 million passengers recorded during 2016, representing a rise of 6.7%.

“These three most strategic segments of activity at the Port of Barcelona registered significant year-on-year increases,” Sixte Cambra, the organization’s President, said.

The Port of Barcelona handled more than 370,500 ITUs of ro-ro traffic, up 2.9% year on year. The port also transported 11.4 million tons of liquid bulk, 5% less than the previous year, while shipments of diesel/gas oil grew by 16.4% to 2.7 million tonnes.