International maritime trade is an unforgiving board that does not tolerate lost momentum or institutional complacency. In the latest update of the Container Port Performance Index, official data has been provided by the World Bank. The Port of Las Palmas is relegated to position 113 in a global ranking that evaluates a total of 403 ports worldwide. With a CPPI score of only 22 points in 2024, the Gran Canaria infrastructure is trapped in the middle of the table, unable to achieve the quality leap demanded by major shipping companies and ceding ground to much more aggressive competitors. To understand this stagnation, it is necessary to break down the alarming asymmetry of its operational indicators, metrics that the report’s algorithm uses to expose the structural weaknesses of each port system.
Your shortcomings
The first indicator under examination is the CPPI (Container Port Performance Index) itself, which represents the final overall efficiency score and measures the total time a ship spends captive in the port from its arrival to its departure. The meager 22 points of Las Palmas reflect an alarming lack of overall competitiveness when compared to the powers that lead global traffic. This poor score finds no relief even in the metric Berth hours in % of port hours, which records what percentage of the total time the vessel spends in the facilities is actually dedicated to loading and unloading cargo productively. Although this indicator stands at 0.84 (84%), the figure only highlights that the physical effort in the cranes proves futile because the port bleeds out due to the inefficiency of its two complementary management pillars.
On one hand, the Statistical Index, which measures the consistency and ability of the terminal to provide predictable loading times, stands at a meager 15. On the other hand, the true Achilles’ heel lies in the Administrative Index, which assesses the bureaucratic agility, customs procedures, institutional flexibility, and paperwork outside the dock. The poor 28 points obtained by Las Palmas in this section confirm that the slowness in the offices and organizational rigidities follow the path of the stevedoring, turning administrative management into a bottleneck that suffocates the future of the dock.
The strategic vulnerability of the Gran Canaria terminal becomes even more evident when observing the section of the classification in which it has become blocked, suffering the onslaught of direct rivals. Immediately above Las Palmas, consolidating better performances in positions 103 to 112, are ten ports that have already surpassed Canary efficiency within the global ranking.
Ranking
This leading group is topped by Tanjung Priok in Indonesia at position 103 with 27 points, closely followed by Dunkirk in France at position 104 with 27 points, and Izmir in Turkey at position 105 with 25 points. One step down are Tanjung Perak of Indonesia at position 106 with 24 points, Naha of Japan at position 107 with 23 points, and Dakar in Senegal, positioned at 108 with 23 points, establishing itself as the major Sub-Saharan rival that has already surpassed the island. Closing this block above the Spanish infrastructure are Mobile in the United States at position 109 with 23 points, Puerto Cortés in Honduras at position 110 with 22 points, Hakata in Japan at position 111 with 22 points, and Papeete in French Polynesia at position 112 with a CPPI of 22 points.
Rearview
The outlook is equally concerning when looking downward, where ten ports press hard and threaten to consume Las Palmas’ position occupying places 114 to 123 in the global table. On the heels of the Gran Canaria terminal sits Kalundborg in Denmark at position 114 with 22 points, followed by Iskenderun in Turkey at position 115 with 21 points, and Saigon in Vietnam at position 116 with 20 points. In that same line of lagging performance are Diliskelesi in Turkey at position 117 with 20 points, Noumea in New Caledonia at position 118 with 20 points, Boston in the United States at position 119 with 20 points, and Salerno in Italy at position 120 with 20 points. The closing of this group that is lurking around the position of the island is completed by Taichung in Taiwan at position 121 with 20 points, and Cat Lai in Vietnam at position 122 with 20 points.
The conclusion drawn from this detailed radiography of the report is a serious warning for the local economy. The mathematical reality is that the Gran Canaria port is losing the modernization battle. With emerging infrastructures on the African coast closing distances and showcasing an administrative dynamism that the Canary port lacks, institutional inaction and the inability to reform office management condemn Las Palmas to a slow but steady loss of relevance in the commercial highways of the Atlantic.
