In the first half of the year, the Port of Bilbao handled 17,317,427 tons of cargo, an increase of 1,893,980 tons and 12.3% up on the same period last year. This figure represents the highest year-on-year growth recorded at the start of a year for the last twenty-two years, or since 2004.
Furthermore, despite a difficult start to the year due to the storms, mostly in January and part of February, that affected the vast majority of state-owned ports, and which, in the case of the Port of Bilbao, led to a 9.5% year-on-year decrease in cargo handling in January, the subsequent months, from February to June, have seen the highest volumes of cargo recorded over this period in the last 18 years.
Although the international arena continues to be marked by geopolitical tension and tariff uncertainty, this, as yet, had had no significant impact on traffic volumes. Imports are up around 14% and exports by 9%. Short and deep-sea traffic are steadily becoming equally balanced, making Bilbao an international port serving all types of markets, both European and transoceanic. At present, short-sea shipping accounts for 51% of traffic, whilst deep-sea accounts for 49%.
In the first half of 2026, the turnover of the Bilbao Port Authority stood at USD$45.2 million (39.8 million euros), up 6.4% compared with 37.4 million in the same period of 2025. Bank debt stands at USD$78.4 (69 million euros), while cash reserves amount to USD$96.6 million (85 million euros), enabling the Authority to confidently fund the investment program currently underway.
Planned investment for the 2026 financial year amounts to USD$99.1 million (87.1 million euros), 48% of which had already been spent as at June 30. The Business Plan provides for a total planned investment for the period 2026–2030 of USD$351.2 million (308.8 million euros).