The Port of Barcelona broke the record for total cargo traffic in the first half of the year with movements of 36.3 million tonnes and a year-on-year increase in total traffic of 11%. The previous record dates from before the pandemic when traffic hit 34.5 million tonnes in 2019. This year's figure exceeded that by 6%, according to the company's release.
In addition to historically high total traffic, an important milestone was achieved in container traffic, which registered its record best in a first half of the year. Between January and June, 1.8 million TEUs passed through the Port of Barcelona, with growth of 0.7%. The previous record was 1.7 million TEUs moved a year ago.
Hinterland traffic behaved very similar to total traffic, with 17.7 million tonnes handled and an increase of 7.9%. Ro-ro traffic rose 12.5% to 215,000 UTIs.
In dry bulk, the Port of Barcelona closed the first six months of the year up 2.34 million tonnes – a year-on-year uptick of 3.2%. This rebound was mainly due to the increase in potash exports (138%) at the ICL terminal. Cereal and flour traffic also showed strong results, growing by 65.9%.
Liquid bulk jumped 42.8% to 7.9 million tonnes, a growth that was due mainly to marked increases in LNG imports (+83%) and gasoline and biofuel transits (+178% and 94%, respectively). The increase in inbound and outbound traffic reveals a strong dynamism in the distribution operations of these products.
The only segment that did not increase was new vehicle traffic, which was affected by the current context of uncertainty and economic crisis resulting from the pandemic, recording a 13% drop. However, in recent weeks the trend has begun to shift, with June becoming the first month that traffic has been positive, as continues to occur this July.
Between January and June, nearly 1.2 million passengers moved through the Port of Barcelona. This is 393.4% more than a year earlier, but still far from the 1.87 million passengers logged before the pandemic in the first six months of 2019 (-37%). Recovery has been quicker for ferries, now just 8.6% below traffic in the first half of 2019. Cruise ships registered 670,000 passengers – a 47.5% decrease from 1.3 million in 2019.