Container traffic at Malaga Port increases ninefold

Instability in some of the world's key shipping hubs - first in the Suez Canal and now in the Strait of Hormuz - together with Malaga Port's success in positioning itself in new import and export markets, has pushed activity at the city's port to record levels, particularly in container traffic.

From 2023, when the first disruptions affecting major vessels in the Middle East began to be felt, to 2025, container traffic (measured in TEUs) through Malaga's docks has increased ninefold. This is set out in a report the Port Authority presented at its latest board meeting, which also highlighted the need to use part of state infrastructure coompany Adif's logistics centre in Los Prados, now formally leased to support port operations.

In broad terms, the port handled 41,000 TEUs in 2023. The following year (2024), amid the first disruptions around the Suez Canal, this figure jumped by 430% to 217,000. Growth continued in 2025, rising by a further 64% to 356,000. Projections for 2026 point to another 23% increase.

Traffic has not only grown in volume but also in quality. Port data shows that exports of full containers, carrying goods from Malaga and the wider Andalusian hinterland, have risen by 321% so far this year compared with the same period in 2025. Imports have also increased significantly (up 75%), as has maritime transhipment (+27%).

"When import and export volumes grow, demand for equipment rises, along with yard pressure due to turnover and departure windows," the report warns. In this case, empty containers become "an indicator of system strain". In 2024, the port handled nearly 51,000 empty TEUs; this rose to almost 97,500 in 2025 (+92%). "In 2025, the system needed almost double the flow of empty containers. With import and export accelerating in 2026, the need for storage space and repositioning remains structural."

The report also warns that the port should not absorb long-term storage of empty containers, as dock space is a "high-productivity resource" and storing such cargo for weeks leads to inefficient use. It also reduces capacity for full containers and vessel operations. "With 355,000 TEUs a year and rising, every square metre of yard space carries a very high opportunity cost. The port must prioritise fast turnover and higher-value operations."

The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz is already having a clear impact on Malaga in three main ways. First, diversions via the Cape of Good Hope add between ten and 14 days to transit times, leading to longer container cycles and making it harder to reposition empty units.

Second, major shipping lines have introduced "emergency logistics" surcharges of between 2,000 and 4,000 dollars per container. Third, with vessels and equipment tied up in the Gulf and distribution cycles lengthened, empty containers take longer to return, increasing pressure on temporary storage.

In other major ports, the common approach is to move buffer stock to off-dock facilities that remain well connected to port operations. This is already the case in Algeciras, Rotterdam and Valencia. In Malaga, given the jump from 40,000 to 355,000 TEUs between 2023 and 2025, the current mix of import-export and transhipment traffic and the impact of the Hormuz crisis, the Port Authority has deemed it essential to create external logistics space for the first time.

To this end, it has leased an initial 23,622-square-metre plot from Adif at the Los Prados rail logistics platform. This space will mainly handle empty containers, allowing the port to "preserve dock space for rapid turnover and higher value-added operations".