Port Tarragona is included in the Top 30 ranking of European Union ports in terms of cargo handled. It stands at number 29, ahead of Las Palmas in 30th place, and just behind Cagliari-Sarroch (Sardinia, Italy) in 28th place and Nantes Saint-Nazaire (France) at number 27.
This classification, which is drawn up every year by the port periodical Transporte XXI, is headed by the port of Rotterdam, which handled 436.8 million tons, almost twice as much as the port of Antwerp (Belgium) with 230.8 million tons and Hamburg (Germany) with 126.3 million tons. The busiest port in the Spanish system, Algeciras, handled 107.3 million tons in 2020.