The fall in traffic was caused by a reduction in the volume of crude oil imports, down by 1.15 million tons, strikes, totalling three days in May, and the work underway on the port of Sines.

Sines recorded a drop in traffic of 4%, while the port of Lisbon fell by 4.6%.

The ports of Figueira da Foz and Faro also recorded decreases of 15.6% and 43% respectively, although less significant in absolute terms.

The remaining ports (Leixões, Aveiro, Viana do Castelo and Setúbal) registered increases in traffic. Leixões and Aveiro recorded their highest ever cargo volumes, with increases of 3.1% (248,000 tonnes) and 1.2% (27 thousand tonnes).

Ro-Ro cargo (roll on–roll off) reached its highest ever volume, rising 18.9% to 793.7 thousand tonnes.

Container cargo fell 0.9% by volume of TEU (20-foot equivalent unit intermodal containers) handled, corresponding to a decrease of 10,600 TEU from January to May 2019.