EU ports handled 3.4 billion tonnes of freight in 2023

In 2023, the EU sea ports handled around 3.4 billion tonnes of freight (total gross weight). The volume of freight decreased by 3.9% compared with 2022 (3.5 billion tonnes) and increased by 5.0% compared with 2013 (3.2 billion tonnes).

The largest share of goods handled by main EU ports in 2023, 21.0%, consisted of coal and lignite, crude petroleum and natural gas. This was followed by coke and petroleum products, which accounted for 16.1% of the total volume. Metal ores and other mining and quarrying products made up 7.2%, products of agriculture, hunting, forestry and fisheries added up to 6.8%, and chemicals, rubber, plastics and nuclear fuel collectively accounted for 6.4%. Food products, beverages, and tobacco represented 4.7% of the total goods handled by EU ports.

Source dataset: mar_mg_am_cwhg

This information comes from data on maritime transport of goods published by Eurostat today. This article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article on maritime transport of goods.

The Netherlands leads in maritime freight transport

The Netherlands handled 545 million tonnes of freight in 2023, maintaining its position as the top maritime freight transport country in the EU. Italy followed with 501 million tonnes, ahead of Spain with 472 million tonnes. All 3 of the top countries recorded decreases in freight handled compared with 2022, with declines of 7.6%, 1.7% and 3.7%, respectively.

Among the 22 EU countries with available data, 17 recorded decreases in the volume of freight handled in 2023 compared with 2022. The largest relative drops were recorded in Estonia (-31.0%), Latvia (-21.5%) and Finland (-9.0%).

Source dataset: mar_mg_aa_cwh

For more information

• Statistics Explained article on maritime transport of goods
• Thematic section on transport statistics
• Database on transport statistics
• Webinar on transport statistics

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