Valenciaport’s traffic between January and November this year exceeded 77 million tonnes or – presented as containers – 5.16 million TEUs (20-foot containers or 6.1 metres), according to the company's release.
In both cases, these are magnitudes which leave behind the figures for 2020 (a year marked by the pandemic crisis) and which exceed those of 2019, a year in which the port of Valencia set records in all the goods references.
Among all the traffic magnitudes accumulated in the 11 months of 2021, the evolution of import/export containers stands out. A total of 1,002,870 containers loaded with products manufactured in Spain have already left Valenciaport terminals for abroad – at a rate of 3,000 units per day – and 757,342 – 2,275 containers per day – have entered. These figures represent increases of more than 16% in both cases.
The United States is the main partner of Spanish exports leaving the Valencian docks by container. Italy is the country that moves the most tonnes to/from Valenciaport.
By sectors, sales of construction materials stand out with a 25.94% increase, iron and steel by 23.1% and the agri-food industry by 19.39%.
The strong activation of traffic over the figures for 2019 and 2020 has been observed for several months; and according to the consultancy firm Alphaliner, the Valencian port overtook the Greek port of Piraeus last September. This means that Valenciaport is now the fourth European port in terms of containers handled, after Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg.
Valenciaport’s traffic between January and November this year exceeded 77 million tonnes and 5,161,440 TEUs (standard 20-foot container). These figures already reflect that the activity of Valenciaport terminals exceeded the movements of goods and containers of the years prior to the crisis. Magnitudes that leave behind the data for the 2020 financial year – marked by the pandemic – and which already exceed those of 2019, a year in which the Port of Valencia set records in all the freight references.
Today the data for the month of November of this year have been released and, following the trend of 2021, the evolution of import/export containers stands out. A total of 1,002,870 containers loaded with products manufactured in Spain have already left Valenciaport’s terminals – at a rate of 3,000 units per day – and a further 757,342 (2,275 containers per day) have entered between January and November. These figures represent increases of 16.48% in the case of TEUs for loading (export) and 16.41% for unloading (import), compared to the same period last year.
A line that continues if compared in year-on-year terms (December 2020-November 2021). In this period, Valenciaport handled a total of 5,646,844 TEUs, which represents 5.41% more than in the same period of the previous year. In this figure, it should be noted that export containers amounted to 1,091,149, 15.93% more, and import TEUs reached 820,328, 16.08% more. Transit full containers registered similar figures to the previous year. In terms of total freight traffic, a total of 85,090,262 tonnes were mobilised between December 2020 and November 2021, representing an increase of 7.08%.
With these figures, the projection for the close of the financial year 2021 will place Valenciaport with a historic movement of goods and containers. The strong activation of traffic over the figures for 2019 and 2020 has been observed for several months; and according to data from the consultancy firm Alphaliner, the Valencian port overtook the Greek port of Piraeus last September. This means that Valenciaport is now the fourth European port in terms of containers handled, after Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg.
With regard to the markets which purchase the most products from Valencian and Spanish industries, the United States stands out. In the first 11 months of the year, 135,103 containers full of cargo have arrived in the North American country from Valenciaport’s terminals. This was followed by China with 68,937, Saudi Arabia with 44,857, the United Arab Emirates with 34,255 TEUs exported from Valencia’s terminals and Mexico with 32,407.
On the other hand, Italy is the country that moves the most freight traffic to/from Valenciaport. Thus, between January and November, commercial transactions with the Italian country have moved 6,980,854 tonnes, with a growth of 23.36%. The United States is in second place with 6,938,191 and a decrease of 1.25%, due to the decrease in transit. China is in third place with 6,229,310 tonnes of goods and an increase of 9.91%.
In the cumulative year to November, the data consolidate ro-ro traffic (ships carrying ro-ro cargo in both trucks and cars) with nearly 12 million managed, representing an increase of 15.64% over the same period in 2020.
In terms of sectors, up to November of this year, the most active in foreign sales have been the energy sector with an increase of 57.33%, followed by construction materials with an increase of 25.94%, iron and steel products with a growth of 23.1% and agro-livestock and food, which have increased their exports by 19.39%. About the total traffic mobilised in this period, it is worth highlighting the increase in natural gas, which has risen from 1,192,708 tonnes in 2020 to 1,739,357 tonnes in 2021, representing an increase of 45.83%.