Valenciaport, the largest port in Spain, recorded a year-on-year 11.5 per cent increase in container traffic in March, handling 393,838 TEU.
According to the port, this increase is a positive sign that the commercial flow is entering the recovery phase of the curve, as provisional figures have previously shown.
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The increase in traffic was driven by a surge in full export containers by 8.46 per cent and import containers by 28.56 per cent.
Containers in transit fell by 4.14 per cent.
The President of the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV), Joan Calabuig, stated that “these figures are in line with the impressions we had of traffic at the beginning of the month and we are confident that they will be ratified over the coming months.”
He added that the Port of Valencia is a fundamental tool to help the Valencian and Spanish export sector overcome economic uncertainty.
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Despite the increase in container traffic in March, the cumulative figures for the year (January-March) show a decrease of 9.92 per cent in container traffic, with 1,115,382 TEU handled, and a 6.36 per cent decrease in the amount of cargo, with 18.35 million tonnes passing through the port.
The general trend has reflected a decrease in the level of freight rates in all the areas analysed by the Valencia Containerised Freight Index (VCFI).
