In this month, the half million containers managed were exceeded for the second time (in August 503,482 TEUs were reached)

Valenciaport has once again set a new historical record: last October it managed 508,177 TEUs (6.1 metre or 20-foot containers), the highest figure in its entire statistical series. For the second time the figure of 500,000 containers/month was exceeded (the previous one was August with 503,482). But in addition, last October proved to be the third consecutive month with notable growth - in a year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic - in both general traffic measured in tonnes and that recorded in TEUs (increases of 11.25 and 7.73 percent, respectively). These figures show that Valenciaport is moving away from the commercial crisis generated by the pandemic.

In the year, the gap is closing with respect to 2019 and is "approaching normal" (to the data for 2019) at a rate of two percentage points per month. The January-October data still indicate that the accumulated tonnage handled so far this year is 3.58 per cent below 2019 records and containers are down by 4.01 per cent. If the current rhythm of work observed in the terminals of Valenciaport is maintained, the traffic and volumes of 2019 will have been equalised by the end of the year, a circumstance which will be a success for the whole port community. 

Thus, from the beginning of the year until 31 October, the ports of Valencia, Sagunto and Gandía have managed 65.97 million tonnes of goods and 4,437,483 TEUs. It is worth noting that in the last three months (August-September-October), Valenciaport has managed close to one and a half million containers.

In October of this year, the growth of 17.56% in the number of full containers handled must be reflected. Specifically, those for loading (exports) increased by 4.28%; those for transit by 30.58% and those for unloading (imports) contracted by 3.67%. In October, the movement of empty containers fell by 17.77%. The data shows that between August and October, sales abroad of goods and products by Spanish companies were highly dynamic compared to the more complicated months due to the crisis generated by the Covid-19 (May-June and July), and confirms the reactivation of the international markets for the hinterland of Valenciaport.

Fewer vessels and more containers

So far this year the number of vessels that have worked in the terminals of Valenciaport has reached 5,639 units, while in the same period last year 6,650 ships were registered. There has been a decrease of 1,011 units; 15.20% less. However, this fall is not parallel to the records of goods handled (tonnes/Teus) of -3.58% and -4.01%, respectively. In more detail, it can be seen that during the last month of October 103 fewer ships passed through Valencia than in the same month of the previous year (-14.33%), while the tonnes handled increased by 11.25% and containers by +7.73%.

The difference between the number of ships and goods handled is explained by the increase in the size of the ships (especially container ships), by the tendency towards concentration in the management of import/export and by the search for hub ports such as Valencia, by the shipping companies, which provide competitive advantages in agility and connectivity.

By goods and countries

About movements by type of goods, the "non-metallic minerals" sector continued to be the most active in the first 10 months of the year, with an increase of 9.33%. The remaining sectors show decreases: "construction materials", (-0.64%), "fertilizers" (-2.03%), "agro-food industry" (-2.73%) or "chemical products" (-5.79%). Other sectors such as "vehicles and transport elements" fell by -14.32% and "other goods" by 12.29%.

By country, between January and October the most active areas in containers managed from Valenciaport were the United Kingdom (+47.84), Canada (+45.81), Saudi Arabia (+26.20) and India (18.39%). The USA with 432,902 TEU and a decrease of 2.53% and China with 430,189 and a decrease of 7.35%, continue to be the countries that lead trade relations with Valenciaport. In terms of geographical areas, 18.32 million tonnes were mobilised in the Mediterranean and Black Sea area, with a decrease of 5.62%, Spain with a traffic of 7.75 million tonnes (-9.92%) and the Far East with 7.5 million tonnes and a decrease of 7.99%.

Ro-Ro traffic

In the year, Valenciaport commercially managed 418,715 vehicles, 31.35% less than the previous year; while ro-ro traffic mobilised 9.29 million tonnes, 13.33% less.  Passenger traffic continues to be marked by the Covid-19 pandemic in the cruise sector (-93.12%), while regular line passengers have fallen by 40.34%.