The traffic data of Valenciaport during last May have shown again some green shoots, indicators of possible changes in trend, with respect to the declines of movements in recent months. Imports grew in May by more than 2%; bulk solids showed increases of 16%, ro-ro cargo from the truck platforms and Ro-ro grew by 5% and those related to passengers, by more than 60%, according to the company's release.
However, the trend of declines that Valenciaport shares with the major ports of the world still persists, in terms of the big figures, although in this case the docks of the Port Authority of Valencia (APV) show signs of moderation: the general traffics of May fell less than the annual averages. The goods managed by Valenciaport in May were 6.66% lower than those of the previous year and containers 6.22% less. Figures that begin to move away from the inter-annual trend that is almost double, since in tons, the accumulated decreases in the last 12 months are still 9.79%; and in calculated in containers, 12.16%.
In spite of these lights, the traffics are still affected by the first indicators of technical recession that the statistics of some Central European countries have detected. However, what no one escapes is inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, factors that are affecting economic and commercial activity in certain sectors.
In the traffic, data of the Statistical Bulletin of the month of May of Valenciaport referred to the first five months of 2023. The analysis reflects a drop of 10.69% in the volume of containers handled in this period, which reached the figure of 1,969,493 TEUs (standard 20-foot container). Despite this, for the second time this year there is a sign of recovery in Valenciaport’s activity and the data for the month of May begin to show signs of stability: import container traffic recovers and grows by 2.36%.
It also confirms the good performance of cruise tourism that this month has grown again in the Port of València and has added 151,855 passengers, 60.37% more if we compare it with the figures of a year ago. The number of total passengers (cruise ships and regular lines) has also grown by 22.27% so far in 2023. In the first five months of the year, the total number of people who have travelled on regular lines with the Balearic Islands and Algeria was 244,758 (+7.36%), while cruise passengers were 176,361 (+51.46%).
Rail transport continues on an upward trend and during the first five months of this year a total of 95,470 TEUs entered and left the Valencian docks by rail: 1,375,558 tons were moved, an increase of 12.56%. This confirms the success of the measures promoted by the PAV to encourage rail transport.
The latest data from the Statistical Bulletin of the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) also show a sustained increase in the movement of automobiles so far this year. Thus, between January and May, the docks of Valencia and Sagunto have handled 262,536 units, 6.19% more than in the same period last year. This situation is transferred to the whole of the vehicles and transport elements sector (+0.63) and specifically the section of automobiles and their parts that has grown in this period by 18.54% to reach 879,552 (+137,583).
By sectors, vehicles and transport elements continues to be the one with the greatest weight in Valenciaport, but the sector that grows the most is that of fertilizers with 338,602 tons (+14.72%) and is already in third position (with respect to the volume transported) of goods managed by the PAV. However, if we take into account the total traffic, the agricultural, livestock and food sector continues to occupy the second position with a traffic volume of 3.6 million tons. In fourth place, other goods (wood, paper, machinery, etc.) mobilized 3.3 million tons and the construction materials sector accumulated 2.5 million tons in the first five months of the year.
Ro-ro traffic (short sea ro-ro services) grew at Valenciaport’s docks in May by 5% (compared to the same month in 2022) to reach 50,690 units. Following a constant and upward line, this type of traffic now totals 5,554,282 tons transported in 2023, 3.57% more than in the same period of 2022.
By type of cargo, in the month of May, gasoline traffic increased by 60%, asphalt by 46%, phosphates by 43% and wood and cork by 20.3%. On the other hand, the agro-livestock and food sector fell by 3% and the construction materials sector by 21.71%.
In total, Valenciaport handled last month 7.236.365 tons of goods, 6.66% less than in the same month of 2022, while the sum of TEUs handled was 452,858 containers (-6.22%). Full containers have accounted for 347,619: cargo (export) 77,476 units; unloading (import) 77,791; and the rest have been transit containers. If we analyse the figures for the rest of the European ports, a similar pattern of decrease is observed. Thus, the transit of containers in the port of Rotterdam has fallen in the first quarter of the year by 11.6% while in the port of Hamburg the drop was 16.9%.
China is Valenciaport’s main trading partner with 220,831 containers, closely followed by the United States with 146,980; however, the countries that have grown the most in their traffic with Valencia were Egypt (+22.09%), India (18.12%) and the United Arab Emirates (+17.12%). Focusing on the traffics by countries in volume of tons, Italy continues as the main trading partner of Valenciaport with 2,864,629 tons moved in the last month (-12.20%), followed by China with 2,564,644 (-3.56%) and USA with 2,340,327 (-39.40%). India achieved a growth of 25.29% and Nigeria 24.93%.