UK major port freight tonnage fell three per cent year-on-year to 104.7 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2026, according to the latest statistics from the Department for Transport.
Structural shifts in the energy sector and a notable redistribution of container traffic between Felixstowe and London Gateway defined the period.
The headline decline masks a more nuanced picture at the cargo-type level. Liquid bulk remains the largest category, accounting for 39 per cent of all major port tonnage, but volumes fell four per cent to 41.0 million tonnes compared to Q1 2025.
The closures of Lindsey oil refinery at Grimsby and Immingham, which recorded a 2.1 million tonne drop, a 45 per cent fall, and Finnart oil terminal at Clyde following the shutdown of Grangemouth oil refinery, were the primary drivers.
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The broader industrial picture compounds this: the closure of blast furnaces at Port Talbot and the UK’s last coal-fired power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar has structurally reduced import demand for raw materials.
The container picture, however, tells a different story, and one with clear implications for port competition.
Whilst overall container tonnage dipped one per cent to 16.6 million tonnes, unitised container traffic rose one per cent to 1,524 thousand units.
Beneath that aggregate, the divergence between the UK’s two dominant container ports is stark. London Gateway recorded a 65,000-unit increase, a 19 per cent rise, in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025, driven in significant part by the opening of its fourth berth and a major corporate operator relocating container operations away from Felixstowe.
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Felixstowe, by contrast, saw unitised volumes drop by 88,000 units, a 16 per cent decline, alongside a 0.9 million tonne fall in container tonnage.
Over a longer horizon, container traffic at UK major ports has risen 22 per cent since a trough in Q3 2024, a trajectory that underlines the structural importance of capacity investment decisions, particularly at London Gateway.
Ro-Ro freight tonnage decreased seven per cent to 22.1 million tonnes, accounting for 62 per cent of the overall tonnage decline from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026, with modest reductions spread across several ports, including Larne and Cairnryan.
Dry bulk bucked the trend, rising three per cent to 19.4 million tonnes, with Grimsby and Immingham posting a 45 per cent increase in dry bulk volumes despite an overall net tonnage decline at the port.
On a rolling 12-month basis to March 2026, total tonnage through UK major ports fell two per cent to 416.7 million tonnes, whilst unitised traffic held broadly flat at 21.4 million units.
For more information:
DP World London Gateway – https://www.dpworld.com/en/ports-terminals/united-kingdom/london-gateway
