Today we had the opportunity to go to the Port of Valencia. The Port tours and presentations are so enlightening and I learned a lot about port operations. The port of Valencia is an international, public port and the most important port in Spain due to its proximity to Madrid, Barcelona and access to railways, roads and water.  The Port Authority of Valencia trades under the name Valencia Port and is the public body responsible for managing three state owned public ports; Sagunto, Valencia and Gandia. The port is home to major shipping companies like Cosco, MSC and Grimaldi. Valencia’s central location and access to the advanced railway systems and water give it an advantage as a port. The port had its roots all the way back in 1763 when it was just one arm. The major evolution came in the 1950s-80s when big container ships grew in popularity there. Now the port has grown to multiple terminals and docks. MSC is currently looking to further expand to the new terminal being built. The port has a lot of traffic every day as 12-14 container ships come in on average per day. 45% of the overall container traffic comes from Middle and far East Asia, 12% comes from North America, 13% from Central and South America and 12% from the Black and Mediterranean sea. I guess the reason the large majority is coming from the Middle and far East is because that is where many companies manufacture their products. The port developed the Port Community System” which is an electronic trading platform used to simplify operational tasks and documents. The Port Community System is now used by 925 companies. I was astonished by the size of the port, it was massive! There were thousands of containers we saw on our drive around the port. Our guide took us to two different look out spots where we had a view of the entire port. We were able to watch a container ship leave the port with exports. It was neat to compare the Port of Barcelona and Port of Valencia. I believe the Port of Valencia utilizes more LEAN tools and has a more streamlined and efficient operational system. It is evident that Valencia is the preferred port of Spain as it is ranked the #1 Spanish container port, the 4th in Europe and 27th in the world. I enjoyed this visit and learning about the past, present and future for the Port of Valencia.