The port of Livorno is driving the container transport segment at national level, recording an 11.8% growth in the first half of the year. The best result among Italian ports.
These are some of the figures from Fedespedi’s 25th Economic Outlook, the observatory on international freight transport trends by the National Federation of International Shipping Companies.
After Livorno, which confirmed its strategic role as a logistics hub in central and northern Italy, Gioia Tauro was the port that performed best in maritime container transport, with a 10.5%, growth, while Genoa and Trieste saw their throughput fall by -1.3% and -1.7% respectively.
The data reflects the healthy performance of Italian foreign trade. In the first half of 2025, exports were up 1.9% and imports 3.9%. This positive trend is part of a global macroeconomic context in which the global GDP is estimated at +3.0% for 2025, while Italy’s growth for the year is 0.5%. Italy’s trade surplus remained at €24 billion in the first semester of 2025.
“The first half of 2025 marks a recovery in Italian foreign trade, with increasing exports and imports. The anticipation effect caused by US tariffs is interesting, pushing exports to North America up to 8.5%. Geopolitical turmoil, from the ongoing wars to the Trump administration’s tariff policy, continues to affect the global economy,” Alessandro Pitto, president of Fedespedi points out. “On the other hand, the ceasefire in the Middle East is positive, encouraging stabilization in the region and making the Red Sea safer. It could lead to shipping returning to Suez, even if the Cape of Good Hope route is unlikely to be abandoned: a new market has opened up, the west coast of Africa.”
Translation by Giles Foster
