The port of Trieste closed the first nine months of 2026 with an increase in freight traffic supported by the recovery of containers, the growth of liquid bulk and the consolidation of of the ro-ro segment. Between January and September, the Julian airport handled 45.2 million tons of goods, with an increase of +3.1% compared to the same period in 2025. The Supervisory Authority Port System of the Eastern Adriatic Sea has announced that considering also Monfalcone, the entire port system has exceeded 47.9 million tons (+1.8%).

The improvement has concentrated mainly in the third quarter of 2026. For the entire port system, the change went from +0.7% recorded in the first half of the year at a more favorable trend in the following three months. Trieste, in particular, recovered in containerized traffic, which returned positive after the decline in the first part of the year.

In the first nine months of this year, the traffic of the liquid bulk cargo, which is by far the main component of goods handled by the port, was 32.3 million of tons (+3.9%). The most significant signal, however, concerns containers: in the period January-September of 2026 the Julian port handled 528,125 TEUs, with an increase by +2.5% compared to the same period of 2025. The result comes after a negative first half of the year ( of 27 July 2026), and is supported by a third quarter in the which 165,502 TEUs were handled, +22.3% more compared to the same period last year. Ro-ro traffic continued its growth: in the first nine months there were 241,034 units were handled (+3.4%), while the total number of vehicles stood at 256,989 units (+1.5%). In 2015, January-September period the total of miscellaneous goods reached 12.8 million tonnes (+1.0%). The increase in Dry bulk cargo amounted to 104 thousand tons (+35.0%).

Bucking the trend of the main indicators in the port of Trieste, rail traffic in the first nine months recorded 5,206 trains, with a decrease of -14.0%. The Port Authority attributes the decline to the limitations affecting European corridors, aggravated by the closure of the Tarvisio Boscoverde between the end of August and September and from the subsequent partial reopening, limited to a night slot of ten hours. For a port that extensively serves non-Italian markets, The efficiency of rail connections is a component competitiveness, both for containers and for other categories of traffic. In this regard, the President of the Port Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea, Marco Consalvo, said which will continue the dialogue with the Italian Railway Network and with European network managers to ensure that businesses connections up to the role of Trieste.

The port of Monfalcone closed the first nine months of 2026 with 2.7 million tons, with a contraction of -15.7% that however, it is less pronounced than the -24.9% recorded in the first half of the year only. The weakness mainly concerns bulk cargo solid, which totalled 2.1 million tonnes (-22.8%). The - explained the Port Authority - is affected by the volumes exceptionally high in 2025, when some companies had anticipated purchases in anticipation of the entry into force of the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Movements are also affected by voltages related to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and the fluctuations in gas and electricity prices, with consequences on imports and industrial activity. On the other hand, miscellaneous goods showed a positive trend with 683 thousand tons (+16.7%). Commercial vehicles fell to 65,093 units (-15.5%), although September showed a monthly recovery of +9.91. The trains operated in Portorosega were 1,579, down -9.7%.