Spain remains upbeat on 2013 volumes

He remains confident that despite a reduction in dry bulk traffic because of good domestic harvests and the repositioning of transhipment traffic on the back of events linked to the Arab Spring, ports will show positive growth.

In related news, the Department for Employment has issued a five-page communication, asking for corrections to be made to the IV collective bargaining agreement reached between port workers and the National Ports Authority. It has also asked the competition authorities to review the text to assess possible violations of the Competition Act.

For their part, the competition authorities have already fined various container transport associations at the port of Valencia a total of €43m for what it views as price-fixing and the dividing up of the market between incumbent providers.