The Port of Santander consolidates its growth and is approaching 3,5 million tons in the first half of 2026

INTERNATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND LOGISTICS

The Cantabrian dock maintains its Uptrend registering a year-on-year increase of 1,3% in its cargo traffic volume through June. Driven by container transport and automotive exports, the port is bolstering its international competitiveness with a robust investment plan to reach the milestone of eight million tons.

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The logistics and international business in northern Spain continues to show clear signs of strength. Port of Santander It closed the first six months of 2026 with a clearly positive balance, having mobilized a total of 3.492.124 tonnes This figure represents a rebound of 1,3 % compared to the 3.446.037 tons recorded in the same period of the previous year. In year-on-year terms, adding the activity between July 2025 and June 2026, the overall volume rises to 7.197.319 tonnes , exceeding by 1,4% the record of the previous twelve months.

For the president of the Port Authority of Santander (APS)César Díaz said this evolution reflects the operational strength of the facility.This development confirms the port's positive progress and underscores the solid work being done by the Cantabrian infrastructure team."The port official pointed out. According to Díaz, these figures confirm..."the maintenance of a sustained upward trend over time» that places the entity «on the right track to achieve an eight million ton port«.

Containers and vehicles lead foreign trade The breakdown of traffic reveals robust behavior in the main magnitudes of foreign trade. The general merchandise, which currently represents 54% of all cargo handled at the port, recorded a slight increase of 0,7 %Meanwhile, the liquid bulk they grew remarkably 3,5 %, while the solid bulk they advanced a 2%, driven especially by the dynamism of the products agro-food.

However, the most pronounced increases were located in high value-added operations for the international BusinessThe traffic of containers experienced a jump from 7% compared to the first half of 2025, reaching 85.770 TEUsSimilarly, the transit of cars It reaffirmed its strategic importance by adding 174.503 units, an 3,4 % more than in the first six months of last year.

Strategic investment in the face of global uncertainty The APS leadership directly links the growth in traffic to the aggressive modernization strategy of its facilities.Strategic planning and a significant investment commitment in infrastructure, digitalization, and sustainability to improve service to our customers are the key to this growth."César Díaz assures."

In this regard, the Port Authority is making progress in the development of vital works for the supply chainAmong them, the expansion of capacity in Raos 2, the construction of Raos dock 6and the expansion of car silo, as well as the rehabilitation of the North Bank and the pier of Raos 8.

At the logistical and customs level, the actions are complemented by the partial urbanization of the Logistics Activities Zone (ZAL)The improvement of plots in the Wissocq industrial park, and the new border control equipment. Infrastructure is also being implemented for the electricity supply at the docks, plans of adaptation to climate change and improvements to access controls in Maliaño.

Faced with the instability of global supply chains, the president of the APS wanted to highlight the role of human capital: «We also have a team and a port community that are doing an extraordinary job, which has allowed us to lay the foundations to overcome the challenges arising from the global logistical uncertainty we are experiencing.«.

Looking ahead to the coming months, the Port of Santander's priority objective is to «to continue increasing the capacity and efficiency of our facilities, to advance synchromodality and to improve our offering at public docks"In Díaz's words, all of this is geared towards one main goal: to create the ideal conditions for attracting new international investments that translate into more economic activity, employment and wealth.