In the first quarter of 2025, freight traffic in the port of Taranto recorded a clear recovery of +37.6% on the same quarter of last year having amounted to 3.66 million Tons. The rise was driven by the robust +71.0% growth in dry bulk cargo to 2.06 million of tons and the strong increase of +57.7% in goods Conventional power has risen to 724 thousand tons. If the latter development can hopefully be considered to be lasting, on the increase in dry bulk volumes weigh on the unknowns about the future of the ex-Ilva steel hub in Taranto of Acciaierie d'Italia, which last year it was placed under extraordinary administration, for which the procedure for the sale of the plants with authorization granted in March 2024 for the start of Preferential negotiation with the Azerbaijani consortium led by Baku Steel Company and Azerbaijan Investment Company. On steel plant, however, is not only burdened by the unknown outcome of these ongoing negotiations, as announced in These days by the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, but also the possible effects of the 25% duties applied by the on 12 March on US steel imports, aluminium and aluminium products from the European Union decided by Donald Trump and excluded, together with cars and components of cars (as well as for China, Mexico and Canada), from the postponement for 90 Duty application days announced last Wednesday by the American president.

If in the first three months of 2025 container traffic in the port of Taranto, with a total of 5 thousand tons, is still a very marginal result and a sharp decrease of -65.5%, a marked drop of -11.2% also characterized the most significant liquid bulk sector where they were handled 874 thousand tons, a decrease due to the Authority, of the Port System of the Ionian Sea - at the temporary stop of some systems for maintenance.

With regard to containerized traffic, noting that the transhipment component has now been non-existent for several months, the Port Authority has announced that in the coming days it will be launched, in agreement with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the five-year verification of the San Marino concession Cataldo Container Terminal «for the appropriate determinations - specified the Port Authority - which became necessary not only for traffic trends but also in consideration of the current national and international scenario and new opportunities development of the port of Taranto and in particular of the Pier Multisectoral". The company, which belongs to the group Yilport Holding, has been operating on the Multi-sector Pier since the beginning of the 2020 and from the middle of that year, when the Stopovers of a feeder service, the promised relaunch to date of the activity in the container segment can certainly not say he was successful.

Beyond the outcome of the checks on the work of the terminal company SCCT, and the possible consequences of the evolution of the events of the steel mill, the Authority of Sistema Portuale has ventured very positive forecast estimates: "if the data acquired in the first quarter were to confirm the trend recorded - underlined the port authority - for 2025 an overall movement is expected more than 16,500,000 tons (compared to 12,105,833 of 2024). The figure could be much higher if we were to confirm the trend reversal recorded since the month of February". The Port Authority is confident in a lasting and not ephemeral recovery in dry bulk volumes: "the increase in trafficking - specified the Authority - seems, therefore, to find a tangible feedback in the resumption of operations of the steel mill, confirming the significant impact of the of the steel hub on port handling and the decisive negative conditioning of recent years. Although the procedure for the sale of the Acciaierie plant is underway of Italy, the numbers recorded in the first quarter seem to confirm the growth forecasts announced by the company dealership for 2025. At the moment, the increases concern in greater measures the handling of raw materials (bulk solid)".

In addition, the Port Authority noted that "the data of the first quarter, compared to last year, also show an increase in of more than 100% of the movements of wind components' and highlighted that "the trend of traffic may further increase, starting from next autumn, thanks to the effective start of the "Tempa Rossa" project, which expects an increase in the export of liquid bulk cargo of about two million a year". The reference is to the project for the exploitation of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons of the concession Gorgoglione in Basilicata which provides for the sending of crude oil to the Eni refinery in Taranto through the Val d'Agri-Taranto pipeline.

"All this - specified the Apulian Port Authority - pending the publication of the Ministry's decree Environment and Energy Security for the hoped-for confirmation the identification of the port of Taranto as one of the poles national industrial for floating offshore wind energy. The implementation of production, storage, assembly and launch of components for energy production floating and fixed offshore wind - underlined the Authority - would be a key factor in the creation of new production and logistics activities in the port of Taranto, generating strategic benefits for Italy and for the territory under the socio-economic and employment profile".