The government in London announced today that in the first three months of 2026, the main ports of the United Kingdom handled 104.75 million tons of goods, with a decrease of -2.6% compared to 107.55 million tons in the first quarter of last year. Goods at landing, amounting to 72.28 million tons, recorded a decrease of -0.6%, while the decrease in those at boarding was more marked as they were 32.46 million tons handled (-6.8%).

In the first quarter of this year, bulk traffic alone amounted to 41.0 million tonnes, with a reduction of -4% largely determined by the contraction of in the ports of Grimsby and Immingham which have suffered a decrease of 2.1 million tonnes (-45%) mainly due to following the closure of the Lindsey refinery in 2025. In addition, despite significant increases in liquid bulk cargo in Milford Haven and Liverpool, these increases were offset by significant declines in other areas, including declines 0.6 and 0.5 million tonnes in Clyde and London respectively. The Finnart oil terminal in Clyde closed at the end of the 2025 following the closure of the Grangemouth refinery.

Quarterly dry bulk traffic, on the other hand, increased by +3% to 19.4 million tonnes, a growth that was mainly driven by Grimsby and Immingham which recorded an increase of one million tons (+45%).

In the first three months of 2026, containerized traffic decreased by -1% to 16.6 million tonnes, a decline that was largely determined by the lower activity in the port of Felixstowe which suffered a decrease of 0.9 million of tons (-17%).

Ro-ro traffic also decreased, which was stood at 22.1 million tons (-7%).