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14 Sep 2026
Santander, September 14, 2026. The president of the Port Authority of Santander (APS), César Díaz, analyzed traffic data up to August this morning, stating that, with an accumulated growth of 3.7% compared to the same period of the previous year, the prospects are “positive” and outline an end of the year with “good news” in many aspects.
Díaz assured that total traffic amounts to 4,787,894 tons, which reflects the effort of a port community “that includes many different people and sectors” and that has managed to make this growth “not a number but a trend”.
“We have had three years of constant increase in the movement of goods”, he highlighted. “That is no coincidence. Together we are making the port a reference point on the Atlantic facade, for its traffic, but, above all, for its efficiency and good work”.
The figures largely correspond to the good performance of general cargo, which grew by 2.5% in this period, driven by containers and automobiles, and now accounts for more than half of the total traffic operating in the Port of Santander. “This is another one of the objectives we had set ourselves,” he added. Making this traffic the most prominent in the port directly impacts, thanks to its significant added value, the economy and employment in Cantabria, “our main reason for being.”
The president of the APS highlighted that, to maintain this trend, the port will continue to invest in infrastructure, to continue improving the quality of services provided by the port community, but also in innovation and sustainability, two of the pillars on which the future of this and other ports rests.”
“Thanks to the resources we generate with our own activity, we have an Investment Plan that foresees public-private actions worth 245 million euros until 2030”, he concluded.
Accumulated and Year-on-Year Traffic Data January-August 2026
Accumulated traffic in the first eight months of the year reached 4,787,894 tons, representing an increase of 3.7% compared to the same period in 2025.
During this time, general cargo, which represents 52.2% of the total cargo passing through the port, increased by 2.5%, and solid bulk by 6.1%, while liquids decreased by 7.5%.
The growth in container traffic is noteworthy, reaching 114,396 TEUs -twenty-foot containers-, a 7.4% increase compared to January-August 2025. As for automobiles, with 216,860 units, they exceeded the figure obtained last year by 2.5%.
Meanwhile, cruises, with 23 calls recorded up to August 31, increased by 35% compared to 17 last year, while passengers increased by 54%, rising from 24,349 in 2025 to 37,528 so far this year.
As for year-on-year traffic – from September 2025 to August 2026 – it grew by 2.5% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 7,323,690.
