THE LONG WAVE OF THE CONFLICT IN IRAN REACHES ITALY, WITH A 4.6% REDUCTION IN CONTAINER TRANSPORT IN ITALIAN PORTS.

Cargo transhipment is coming to a standstill, while the gateway ports of the Central and Eastern Mediterranean are suffering.
New data from the Research Center on import-export traffic and movements in ports and airports for the first quarter of 2026 were presented during a public meeting to mark the 80th anniversary of Fedespedi.
Fedespedi is celebrating 80 years of collaboration with international shipping companies, a sector that in Italy boasts a network of around 1,650 companies with a combined turnover of €24.9 billion and over 60,000 employees.
The echoes of the conflict in Iran are starting to reach Italy. This is evidenced by new data published by the Fedespedi Research Center, the National Federation of International Freight Forwarders, at the annual public meeting held this year in Genoa at the Palazzo della Borsa, on the occasion of the Federation's eightieth anniversary. The event brought together industry leaders, institutions and some key stakeholders in the logistics sector to reflect on the role of international freight forwarders in a profoundly changing global landscape. This year's public meeting, entitled "80 years, a thread that unites us", was an opportunity to celebrate eight decades of industrial history marked by family business, adaptability and international vision.
The data by sector show the current size of the international shipping sector in Italy: a network of around 1,650 companies with a combined turnover of 24.9 billion euros and over 60,000 employees: figures that describe the importance of a strategic sector for the movement of goods and the support of international trade.
“Shipping companies offer a unique perspective on the development of international trade,” said Alessandro Pitto, President of Fedespedi. “The data presented today demonstrate the impact of geopolitical tensions on world trade, as well as the resilience of a sector accustomed to operating in a constant state of change.”
During the public meeting, new data from the Fedespedi Research Center on import-export and port and airport traffic for the first quarter of 2026 were presented. The analyses highlight the initial impact of international tensions on the flow of goods to Italy and outline the potential development of new trade routes. In the first quarter of 2026, container traffic in Italian ports decreased by 4.6% compared to the same period in 2025. The slowdown is particularly concentrated on the Adriatic coast, where Trieste recorded a significant contraction (-23.6%), and also affected several Tyrrhenian ports, from Savona (-14.1%) to Genoa (-4.9%). The port of Naples also recorded a slight decrease (-3.5%). On the other hand, growth was recorded at the LSCT terminal in La Spezia (+7.8%), Salerno (+7.8%) and Venice (+5.8%), while Ravenna remained practically stable (+0.1%).
The Italian data should be seen in the context of the dynamics observed in the Mediterranean, where the total volume of transshipment cargo is increasing, for example through the Suez Canal at Port Said (+48.2%) and Algeciras (+9.3%), while the Spanish ports in the western Mediterranean, closest to Gibraltar, Barcelona (-1.8%) and Valencia (+1.3%), remain stable, while the ports of the central Mediterranean, including Piraeus (-5.7%), are experiencing a decline. This is offset by the growth of Turkish ports, in particular Mersin, driven by the search for alternatives to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, transported by sea and road.
The reduction in container traffic thus appears to be a phenomenon specific to the national port system, in the context of Italian exports continuing to grow, albeit at a more moderate pace (+1.3% in the first quarter compared to +3.3% recorded in 2025).
The slowdown is also affecting air cargo. In the first quarter of 2026, Italian airports handled approximately 279,500 tonnes of cargo, down 2.4% compared to the same period of the previous year. The reduction affected the country's two main cargo hubs: Malpensa (down 4.5%) and Fiumicino (down 2.1%). The result was simultaneously influenced by the international situation, the difficulties with air traffic in a key transit region such as the Middle East, and several regulatory measures, including a new tax of two euros on parcels arriving from China.
The case of Trieste deserves special attention. In terms of container traffic, the Port of Julian is suffering from the reorganization of shipping alliances, which has led to changes in routes and a decrease in transit volumes. However, in terms of rolling stock, the port is experiencing the opposite trend: in the first quarter of 2026, ro-ro traffic from Turkey increased by 6.4%, from 77,618 to 82,554 industrial vehicles. It is still too early to establish a direct link with the conflict in Iran; however, it remains plausible that part of these flows reflect an attempt to bypass the Strait of Hormuz by alternative land routes, along the routesut, which passes through Turkey and Iraq. In this context, Trieste confirms its central role as a strategic gateway to the North Adriatic, a crossing point between the Mediterranean, Central Europe and the Balkans, and a privileged hub for the movement of rolling stock between the Mediterranean and Central Europe.
Against this background, the possibility of an alternative trade route arises, giving Turkey a growing role as a hub between Asia and Europe, capable of intercepting flows diverted from crisis zones. "Turkey is now establishing itself as an increasingly important partner in the Mediterranean", said Alessandro Pitto, President of Fedespedi. "In a scenario where new routes are opening up and the logistical balance is constantly changing, it is necessary to strengthen increasingly strong trade relations with this country and promote strategic alliances capable of facilitating the flow of goods".