TRIESTE – The ports of Trieste and Monfalcone close 2025 above 64 million tonnes, with Portorosega posting the sharpest acceleration in the entire Eastern Adriatic.
The Eastern Adriatic Sea Port System Authority said that the Port of Trieste, as previously reported by Adriaports, closes the year at around 60 million tonnes (+0.7%), remaining broadly stable compared with 2024. Liquid bulks rise to over 43 million tonnes (+4.4%), driven by crude oil handled at the SIOT terminal, which tops 41.9 million tonnes. The increase is mainly linked to higher supply demand from the Czech Republic after flows via the Druzhba pipeline were interrupted.
The container segment, instead, ends down at 681,733 TEU (–19%), reflecting the reduction in transhipment traffic after the end of the 2M alliance. The figure is, however, offset by the resilience of the hinterland segment, which remains stable at 536,930 TEU, with full containers up by +4.9%. «The reduction we see in container volumes is largely attributable to the sharp drop in transhipment, which halves compared with the previous year. By contrast, hinterland traffic, i.e. traffic linked to European destination markets, remains stable and full containers are increasing. This trend, despite an overall negative figure, confirms Trieste’s nature as a gateway port, oriented towards real import-export flows and not pure transhipment. The fall in TEU – comments Port Authority President Marco Consalvo – does not therefore signal a loss of competitiveness, but a qualitative selection of traffic, with more cargo directly connected to Europe’s productive economy».
Motorways of the Sea services also grow, with 317,296 Ro-Ro units (+7.4%), supported by the launch of new lines with Turkey. General cargo and dry bulks are weaker, with the exception of grain, which is growing again. Overall rail figures for the Trieste–Monfalcone system reach 11,600 trains (+3.8%), despite limitations linked to infrastructure works and the closure of the Tauern Tunnel. Trieste accounts for 7,939 trains (+1.6%), with Germany, Austria and Hungary as the main reference markets.
The real standout of 2025, however, is Monfalcone. The port exceeds 4 million tonnes handled, posting a 19.4% increase, returning to the levels of the record 2016–2017 biennium. Growth is spread across all categories. Dry bulks reach 3.49 million tonnes (+21.9%), confirming they are the port’s main driver. General cargo rises to 791,704 tonnes (+9.3%), while commercial vehicles increase to 103,397 units (+19.2%). Portorosega’s rail performance is also significant: 2,239 trains (+21.16%).
«Taken together – Consalvo concludes – the 2025 figures show a port system in dynamic balance: Monfalcone accelerates strongly, while Trieste reduces the weight of pure transit and strengthens its role as an energy hub and Central Europe’s maritime gateway. Flows are increasingly connected to the real economy of the territories served and to a production system geared towards the development of port labour and higher value-added activities».
