In 2024, the port of Palermo handled a total of 8.07 million tons of goods, with a decrease of -2.5% compared to to the record year 2023, a decline that was determined by the -6.6% reduction in goods at embarkation to 2.90 million tons, while the loads at unloading remained stable at 5.17 million tons. In addition, the decrease in recorded in 2024 was mainly generated by the -4.9% contraction in the volumes of rolling stock which were amounted to 7.14 million tonnes. Also declining were dry bulk with 105 thousand tons (-14.4%). Bulk consisting of refined petroleum products, have marked A growth of +35.5% rising to 649 thousand tons. Increasingly containerized cargo with 177 thousand tons (+7.4%) Made with a container handling of 16,394 TEUs (+7,8%).

In the passenger sector, there was both a growth of cruise passengers, who have reached a new record Historical record of 969 thousand units (+3.1%) of which 178 thousand as home port (+2.7%), and of ferry passengers who were found to be equal to 1.50 million units (+1.8%).

In the fourth quarter of 2024 alone, the Palermo port of call handled a total of 2.12 million tonnes of cargo, with a decrease of -2.3% on the same period of the previous year, of which 1.41 million tonnes of goods on landing (+2.2%) and 712 thousand tons at loading (-10.1%). In the Goods segment 1.82 million tons of rolling stock were handled (-7.8%) and 47 thousand tons of goods in containers (-0.4%). The liquid bulk cargo amounted to 231 thousand tons (+109.0%) and dry waste at 25 thousand tons (-39.2%). In the period October-December of last year, cruise traffic 265 thousand passengers (-1.8%) and that of the ferries of 253 thousand passengers (+4.9%).

Among the other ports administered by the System Authority Port of the Western Sicilian Sea, in the whole of 2024 the port of Termini Imerese handled 957 thousand tons of goods (-33.3%), of which 714 thousand tons of rolling stock (-39.4%) and 243 thousand tons of rolling stock tons of dry bulk (-5.5%). In the port of Trapani the global traffic was 544 thousand tons (-10.2%), including 266 thousand tons of rolling stock (+36.4%), 114 thousand tons of containerized goods (-4.4%), 159 thousand tons of bulk cargo (-42.1%) and 4 thousand tons of liquid bulk (-75.1%). At Porto Empedocle, traffic was 437 thousand tons (-9.7%), of which 331 thousand tons of dry bulk (-14.4%) and 106 thousand tons of ro-ro cargo (+9.0%). Finally, in the ports of Gela and Licata, whose management since May 2022 has passed from the Sicilian Region to the Port Authority of the Western Sicilian Sea, volumes traffic amounted to 1.49 million tons and 123 thousand tons.