La Spezia Container Terminal has resumed full operations following extensive consolidation and refurbishment work at the Fornelli Est quay, Image credit: LSCT
02/16/2026
The distance to Spain has been reduced to just 2.5 million tons
Rome – In 2024, Italy will remain second in the European Union in terms of the quantity of goods loaded and unloaded by sea, with a 14.6% share of the EU27 total, behind the Netherlands and ahead of Spain and Belgium. Germany will overtake France, climbing to sixth place, according to Istat (National Institute of Statistics). Italian maritime traffic will remain essentially stable compared to 2023 (-0.07%), compared to a slight decline in the European average (-0.22%).
It will also show a more moderate decline compared to 2019 (-3.8% versus -6.8% for the EU), with the gap behind Spain reduced to just 2.5 million tonnes , suggesting a potential overtaking. Italy will also maintain its second European position in liquid bulk maritime transport and sixth place for containerized cargo, while the ports of Trieste and Genoa will enter the top 20 European ports, ranking sixteenth and eighteenth respectively, both improving compared to 2023.