Morocco’s Port Growth Draws Spanish Freight Forwarders to North Africa

Doha – Several Spanish freight forwarding companies have recently established offices in Morocco, capitalizing on the growing bilateral trade and the country’s emergence as a strategic hub for global commerce and logistics.

Cities like Casablanca, and particularly Tangier, have become focal points for expansion by companies such as Partida Logistics, MPG, and Grupo Alonso’s forwarding division in the past year.

According to El Mercantil outlet, this trend is particularly evident in Algeciras, Spain’s primary logistics gateway to Morocco. “Some of our partners decided that having a presence on both shores was essential for their business development,” says Manuel Cózar, President of Ateia Algeciras.

“The pull effect has been impressive,” he adds, noting that nearshoring and current geopolitics are strongly favoring Morocco.

Tanger Med port, constructed in 2007, expects to exceed nine million TEUs in 2024, following 8.6 million TEUs in 2023.

This represents nearly all of Morocco’s container traffic, according to UNCTAD data, and surpasses half the volume handled by all Spanish ports combined (16.3 million TEUs). The facility ranks among the world’s top 20 container ports, a distinction no Spanish port holds.

The port’s free zone has attracted over 1,300 companies, including 200 multinational automotive firms. “The Gibraltar Strait hub formed by Algeciras and Tangier, soon to include Nador, will create a triangle destined to handle major traffic on the world’s most important trade routes,” Cózar explains to El Mercantil.

Álvaro Partida, Commercial Director of Partida Logistics, identifies four strategic production areas in Morocco: automotive and aerospace, agriculture, technology, and infrastructure investments including renewable energy.

“We’ve experienced a notable increase in freight volumes originating from Morocco,” Partida said, adding that their expansion is to serve growing trade flows between Europe and Morocco.

The Suardiaz Group, which maintains offices in Tangier and Casablanca, says that Morocco’s industrial development is a key attraction.

The company noted to El Mercantil that Morocco is diversifying its locations with new industrial areas, implementing European standards for more resilient, circular, and productive logistics investments.

The Moroccan government’s logistics development plan aims to establish new logistics zones covering approximately 3,300 hectares by 2030.

The logistics sector contributes 2.8% to the country’s GDP, with an average annual volume growth of 3.8% in the past decade. According to ICEX’s 2023 report, at least 30 Spanish logistics companies have physically expanded into the Moroccan market.

Both Suardiaz and Partida acknowledge the competitive nature of the market. While Moroccan freight forwarders hold an advantage in market knowledge, Spanish companies aim to differentiate themselves through global forwarding approaches with complete supply chain solutions.