IN Brief:
- Gothenburg handled 698,000 TEU in January–September 2026, broadly unchanged from 699,000 TEU a year earlier.
- Laden containers rose 2% as empty container handling fell 11%; laden imports increased 7% and exports declined 1%.
- Rail freight increased to 403,000 TEU, with ro/ro units, new cars and energy cargo also showing growth.
The Port of Gothenburg handled 698,000 TEU during January–September 2026, almost unchanged from the 699,000 TEU recorded in the same period last year. Beneath that flat headline, laden container movements increased by 2% while the handling of empty containers fell by 11%. The new figures indicate a change in the composition of container traffic at Sweden’s largest maritime freight gateway rather than a broad expansion in the number of containers passing through it.
A twenty-foot equivalent unit, or TEU, records container capacity whether the box is loaded or empty. Laden containers rose 2% at Gothenburg while empty handling fell 11%, shifting the balance of terminal activity towards boxes carrying goods. The port reports movements in TEU rather than the weight of cargo inside the containers, so the figures establish a change in container composition without giving a corresponding tonnage increase. Full and empty boxes use crane moves and yard capacity, although their subsequent storage and repositioning requirements differ.
Imports of laden containers increased by 7%, while loaded exports fell by 1%. The split changes the timing with which import boxes become available after delivery and unloading, and how the port and inland depots handle empty equipment. An imported box may be reused for an export shipment or repositioned, according to shipping-line requirements and the demand for equipment in each location. The published 11% fall in empty handling is a port-wide measure, rather than a direct calculation of savings or repositioning performance for individual operators.
Rail traffic increased 2% to 403,000 TEU, compared with 396,000 TEU in the previous nine months. The port says approximately 60% of containers moving through Gothenburg are carried to or from inland destinations by rail. These are overlapping stages of the freight journey: the rail total is a measure of hinterland movements and cannot be added to maritime throughput of 698,000 TEU. Their separate trajectories nevertheless show how inland terminal demand can grow even when the number of marine container movements changes little.
Through Railport Scandinavia, services connect Gothenburg’s maritime terminals with production and distribution areas across Sweden. Consignees can use inland rail terminals for longer-distance movements, with lorries handling collection and final delivery where factories or warehouses lack direct rail access. Higher rail volumes can affect terminal train paths, handling windows and the availability of intermodal equipment. Those operating requirements follow the actual distribution of freight, making the import/export split relevant alongside the overall growth percentage.
Roll-on/roll-off freight grew as well. Gothenburg handled 405,000 ro/ro units during January–September, compared with 396,000 the previous year, a rise of 2%. This category covers trailers and other rolling cargo transported on frequent maritime services linking the port to Northern and Central Europe and the United Kingdom. Unlike a container terminal movement, ro/ro handling depends on moving wheeled equipment onto and off a vessel, with the trailer or vehicle serving as the cargo-carrying unit.
New vehicle traffic reached 197,000 units, compared with 172,000 during January–September 2025, a 14% rise. Imports grew 29% and exports increased 10%. Car handling relies on vehicle compounds, damage-control procedures and dedicated loading arrangements, which differ from a container terminal’s stack and crane operations. Growth in import vehicles consequently influences how much staging space and road or rail collection capacity is required after vessels discharge their cargo.
Energy products amounted to 16.5 million tonnes, up from 15.1 million tonnes, a 10% increase. Imports of energy products rose 4% and exports grew 15%. Dry bulk and breakbulk cargo reached 266,000 tonnes compared with 264,000 tonnes a year earlier, approximately 1% growth. Pulp was a contributor to that segment and can subsequently enter containerised export flows, illustrating the links between bulk storage, handling systems and container logistics at a multi-cargo port.
The changes across the port’s businesses also place different demands on shared infrastructure. Containers are reported in TEU, ro/ro in freight units, cars as individual vehicles and bulk and energy products in tonnes. Quayside space, workforce deployment and road or rail connections must be planned according to the timing and handling method for each cargo. Comparing the percentages without their underlying units would obscure those operational differences, especially when car traffic is rising much faster than the container total.
The figures cover the first nine months of 2026, ending on 30 September. Gothenburg recorded almost unchanged maritime container throughput alongside more laden boxes, more import cargo and higher rail activity; its vehicle and energy operations grew more strongly. The fourth-quarter results will establish whether the changed cargo mix persists, with particular implications for empty-container positioning, inland rail capacity and compound space.
