by InTrieste
The Port of Trieste handled 45.2 million metric tons of cargo between January and September 2026, an increase of 3.1% from the same period last year, according to figures released Sunday by the Eastern Adriatic Sea Port Authority.
Including the nearby port of Monfalcone, the regional port system handled more than 47.9 million tons, up 1.78% year over year. Growth accelerated in the third quarter, following a 0.67% increase in the first half of the year.
Liquid bulk cargo, including oil, rose 3.9% to 32.3 million tons, reinforcing Trieste’s role as a major energy hub supplying Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic through the Transalpine Pipeline.
Container traffic also returned to growth after a decline in the first half of the year. The port handled 528,125 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, in the first nine months, up 2.5% from a year earlier. Traffic in the third quarter alone increased 22.3%, to 165,502 TEUs.
Roll-on/roll-off traffic, which includes vehicles transported aboard ships, rose 3.4% to 241,034 units. The port handled 256,989 vehicles overall, an increase of 1.51%. Authorities cited continued links with Turkey and the expansion of services connecting Trieste with Damietta, Egypt, as factors supporting the sector.
General cargo totaled 12.8 million tons, up 0.98%, while solid bulk cargo increased 34.98%, to 104,086 tons.
Rail freight connections remained a challenge. The port operated 5,206 trains during the nine-month period, down 14.01% from a year earlier. The authority attributed the decline to capacity constraints across European rail corridors and the temporary closure of the Tarvisio Boscoverde railway facility from late August through September. A partial reopening began in mid-September, with operations restricted to a 10-hour overnight window.
At Monfalcone, cargo traffic fell 15.68% to 2.7 million tons, although the decline narrowed from 24.9% in the first half of the year. Solid bulk cargo dropped 22.8%, to 2.1 million tons, partly reflecting unusually high volumes in 2025, when companies brought forward purchases ahead of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which imposes carbon-related costs on certain imports.
The authority also cited volatility in gas and electricity prices linked to disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz as a factor affecting imports and industrial production.
General cargo at Monfalcone moved in the opposite direction, rising 16.69% to 682,793 tons. Commercial vehicle traffic fell 15.52% to 65,093 units over the nine-month period, although September recorded a 9.91% increase from a year earlier, to 7,264 vehicles. Rail services at the port operated 1,579 trains, down 9.72%.
Marco Consalvo, president of the Eastern Adriatic Sea Port Authority, said the figures demonstrated the port’s ability to grow despite international uncertainty. He described the recovery in container traffic as particularly encouraging and said the expansion of roll-on/roll-off services offered further opportunities.
Consalvo added that the authority would continue working with Italy’s rail infrastructure manager, RFI, and European network operators to address rail capacity and service reliability.
