RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s ports handled 738,111 twenty-foot equivalent units in January, a 2.01 percent increase from a year earlier, driven by a sharp rise in transshipment volumes despite weaker inbound and outbound trade. 

Ports overseen by the Saudi Ports Authority, known as Mawani, reported that transshipment containers surged 22.44 percent year on year to 184,019 TEUs, helping offset softer cargo flows.  

This comes as Saudi Arabia accelerates efforts to position itself as a global logistics hub under its National Transport and Logistics Strategy, investing heavily in port infrastructure and supply-chain integration to capture a larger share of regional trade flows. 

Mawani emphasized in a statement that the increased container handling “delivers multiple economic benefits, including enhanced trade activity, stimulation of maritime-related industries, tourism growth, and strengthened supply chains.” 

While overall container volumes grew, the figures revealed a mixed performance across different segments. Inbound container volumes declined 3.23 percent to 284,375 TEUs, while outbound containers fell 3.47 percent to 269,717 TEUs compared to January 2025. 

Passenger traffic through Saudi ports jumped 42.27 percent to 143,566 travelers in January, while vehicle volumes rose 3.31 percent to 109,097 units.  

Livestock imports showed particularly strong momentum, with ports receiving 886,908 heads of cattle — a 49.86 percent increase compared to 591,824 heads during the same period in 2025. 

Liquid bulk cargo registered a marginal increase of 0.28 percent, reaching 14.1 million tonnes. However, total handled tonnage — including general cargo, dry bulk, and liquid bulk — declined 3.04 percent to 19.2 million tonnes. General cargo stood at 839,987 tonnes, while dry bulk reached 4.26 million tonnes. 

Vessel traffic experienced a slight decrease of 1.75 percent, with 1,121 ships calling at Saudi ports compared to 1,141 ships in January 2025. 

The positive January figures follow a strong 2025 performance, during which Mawani-supervised ports achieved a 10.58 percent annual increase in container throughput, handling 8.32 million TEUs compared to 7.52 million TEUs in 2024. Transshipment containers for full-year 2025 rose 11.78 percent to 1.93 million TEUs. 

The total number of outgoing containers rose by 11.72 percent in 2025 to reach 3.1 million TEUs, compared to 2.8 million TEUs, while the total number of incoming containers increased by 8.82 percent to reach 3.2 million TEUs in 2025, compared to 2.9 million TEUs a year earlier.