• Liquid bulk traffic in the first month of the year grew by 13.8% and solid bulk by 21.4%

• Container throughput in January fell by 23.6%, especially transit (-28.1%) and unloading (-32.3%), while export container throughput contracted by 10.2%

• Italy is the main trading partner for goods with Valenciaport, with 536,453 tonnes and an increase of 1.37%. By TEU, China continues to be the leading country, closely followed by the United States

• The dynamism of India (+20%), Canada (+22.8%), Mexico (+47.9%) and the United Arab Emirates (+19.7%) should be highlighted

Fuente: Valenciaport

Valenciaport, as a thermometer of the import/export activity of its hinterland and the international economic situation, has begun the year 2023 with an increase in liquid and solid bulk traffic and a fall in goods per container. According to data from the Statistical Bulletin of the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV), the first month of the year shows an increase of 13.8% in liquid bulk compared to January 2022 and 21.4% in solid bulk. In the accumulated 2022, liquid bulks ended with an increase of 50.4% and solid bulks of 4.45%. Regarding non-containerised goods, growth was 3.28%, while goods and products arriving by container fell by 24%.

This means that, in January of this year, 5,715,093 tonnes of goods were handled, which represents a drop of 15.95% compared to the same month in 2022. The Port of Valencia, which specialises in containers, is experiencing a fall in the number of containers, as is the case in other major European ports at the start of the year. Thus, a total of 343,793 TEU (standard 20-foot container) have been mobilised, representing a decrease of 23.57%. Of these, the full containers have suffered a drop of 25%, especially the decrease of 32.3% in those dedicated to unloading (import), a symptom linked to the production of the companies and domestic consumption which in previous months had shown positive figures. Those for loading (export) fell by 10.2%, while those for transit, continuing the trend of recent months, fell by 28.1%. As for empty vessels, the contraction was 18.6%.

The year 2023 has also started with a good tone in the automobile units handled by the ports of Valencia and Sagunto, with a total of 46,934 automobiles, 8.6% more than in January 2022. For its part, ro-ro traffic reached 997,286 tonnes, 7.9% more than in the same month of 2022.

Italy is the main partner

Italy reaffirmed its position as Valenciaport’s main partner in the first month of the year. Trade with the European country amounted to 536,453 tonnes (+1.37%). The United States is in second place with 511,211 tonnes and a fall of 19.6%, while China with 380,395 tonnes fell by 36%. On the other hand, India’s potential stands out in fourth place with 244,355 tonnes and an increase of 20%. Other dynamic countries are Mexico (+47.9%), Canada (+22.8%) and the United Arab Emirates (+19.7%).

By containers, China continues to be the main country with 31,945 TEU (-38.8%), closely followed by the United States with 30,376 TEU (-21.44%) and India with 15,708 (+10.6%).