Türkiye’s Ports Handle 43.6 Million Tons in April 2025

In April 2025, the total cargo handled at Türkiye’s ports declined by 3.2% year-on-year, reaching 43,653,819 tons, according to data released by the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs. However, for the January–April 2025 period, the cumulative volume increased by 1.4% compared to the same period in 2024, totaling 181,904,970 tons.

Foreign Trade Cargo Traffic Records Monthly Decline

The volume of outbound cargo from Türkiye to foreign ports dropped by 5.7% in April to 11,357,185 tons, while inbound cargo from overseas ports declined by 2.7%, standing at 21,765,178 tons. Overall, foreign trade maritime transport was down 3.7% compared to the previous April, with 33,122,363 tons handled.

Transit Cargo Down, Cabotage Traffic Up

Transit cargo shipments via maritime routes fell 10.4% in April, totaling 5,445,377 tons. In contrast, domestic cabotage traffic rose by 10.4%, reaching 5,086,079 tons, indicating a notable shift toward short-distance domestic shipping.

Container Traffic Shows Slight Overall Dip but Growth in Foreign Trade Movements

In April 2025, Turkish ports handled 1,096,362 TEUs, down 3.0% year-on-year. Over the first four months of 2025, the total container throughput dropped 0.7% to 4,451,227 TEUs.

However, foreign trade container traffic bucked the trend. The total number of containers loaded for export and unloaded from foreign ships increased by 4.0%, reaching 821,779 TEUs.

• Export containers surged 6.4% to 394,495 TEUs,

• Import containers rose 1.9% to 427,284 TEUs.

Transit and Domestic Container Traffic Experience Double-Digit Declines

Transit container handling fell sharply by 21.4% to 207,072 TEUs, while cabotage container traffic also decreased by 12.3%, amounting to 67,511 TEUs in April 2025.

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