Turkish ports are expected to set further records by building on the records they set last year in terms of cargo handling quantities at the end of this year and into 2027, according to a report on Tuesday.
Based on a compilation prepared by Anadolu Agency (AA) from the 2027 Presidential Annual Program, a total of 14 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) containers and 553.3 million tons of cargo were handled in Türkiye in 2025. This was a record for the country.
By the end of this year, it is expected that total container handling will reach 14.1 million TEU and cargo handling will reach 565 million tons, breaking new records.
While the number of containers handled at ports increased by an annual average of 13.9% from 2002 to 2012, this rate slowed to 4.8% annually during the 2013-2025 period as global trade slowed and container trade approached saturation.
Last year, 84% of the container handling volume, which reached 14 million TEU, was carried out at ports affiliated with the port authorities of Ambarlı, Kocaeli, Tekirdağ, Mersin and Aliağa.
Some 36% of the cargo handled consisted of export-oriented goods. The amount of cargo handled last year increased by 3.3% compared to the previous year.
New records are also expected in the amount of cargo transported between Turkish ports, a practice known as cabotage. In cabotage, where 69.7 million tons of cargo were handled last year, the amount is expected to reach 74.8 million tons by the end of this year.
Another record is targeted for the end of next year, with 77.8 million tons.
Hamdi Erçelik, the chair of the board of directors of the Port Operators Association of Türkiye (TÜRKLIM), evaluating the data, mentioned that there was an increase in general cargo on the Mediterranean-Black Sea line and within Marmara for iron and steel loads, and that empty containers brought along an increase in cabotage volume.
Pointing out that the increase in freight transport on ferry lines supports the increases in cabotage volume, Erçelik stated that among the main factors supporting the increase in cabotage are the "relatively high cost of road and rail alternatives."
"The expectation that fuel prices derived from oil and refined petroleum products will remain high in the future indicates that the trend of increasing share in cabotage as an alternative to road and railway will continue," he also said.
"It is also expected that due to the risks of war in the Black Sea, traffic will increase in national waters up to 12 nautical miles from the coast, which is expected to support cabotage transportation."