The combined container throughput of Europe’s 15 largest ports reached 79.3 million TEU last year, an increase of 2.6% compared to the previous year, according to the PortsEurope analytical project. Nearly half of this volume comes from the region’s three leading ports – Rotterdam, Antwerp-Bruges, and Hamburg – which together account for approximately 46% of the rating’s container throughput. Their combined throughput increased by 2.9%.
Of the 15 ports included in the list, four showed a decline in container throughput. Three of these are located on the Iberian Peninsula, and the other is the Greek port of Piraeus. Its performance has been declining since 2019, and during this period, the port lost almost 1 million TEU, representing approximately 20% of its previous throughput.
The largest Italian port, Gioia Tauro, and the Polish ports of Gdansk and Hamburg demonstrated the highest growth rates, each increasing their throughput by more than 500,000 TEU. The Spanish port of Las Palmas also entered the ranking for the first time: its container throughput increased by 21% over the year, exceeding 1.5 million TEU.