The transportation and storage sector, which comprise a critical backbone of Kenya\u2019s economy, delivered a mixed performance in 2025, according to the newly released 2026 Economic Survey.<\/p>\n
The Survey released by Treasury CS John Mbadi shows that while road, rail, and port activities expanded significantly, the air transport sub-sector experienced a sharp contraction, revealing shifting dynamics in how goods and people move across the country.<\/p>\n
In overall, the transportation and storage sector slowed in growth when compared to the previous year.<\/p>\n
The sector\u2019s real Gross Value Added (GVA) grew by\u00a03.7% in 2025, down from 4.3% growth in 2024. However, despite the slowdown, the sector remained a major contributor to the national economy, accounting for\u00a011.8% of Kenya\u2019s GDP\u00a0\u2013 second only to agriculture.<\/p>\n
The CS exuded positivity saying the economic was resilient and that \u201csectoral performance and reforms\u201d imply future steady growth in the 2026\/2027 period. The report was released on Wednesday of April 29, 2026 in Nairobi.<\/p>\n
The Survey Report shows that the Port of Mombasa, East Africa\u2019s busiest gateway, handled\u00a045.59 million metric tonnes of cargo\u00a0\u2013 an\u00a011.2% increase\u00a0from 2024.<\/p>\n
Total imports grew by 20.1%, while transit cargo to neighboring countries expanded by 19.5%.<\/p>\n
Uganda remained the dominant transit destination, accounting for\u00a068.7% of all transit traffic.<\/p>\n
Container traffic rose 5.5% to\u00a02.11 million TEUs\u00a0(Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), supported by a 4.4% increase in ship calls.<\/p>\n
Road transport continues to dominate, contributing\u00a075.7%\u00a0of the sector\u2019s total value added. The number of newly registered motor vehicles and motorcycles surged by\u00a047.9% to 395,235 units\u00a0in 2025.<\/p>\n
The sharp increase was driven by the clearance of backlog registrations by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and improved vehicle financing.<\/p>\n
However, more vehicles also meant more crashes.\u00a0Reported road traffic accidents rose by 4.2% to 11,638, resulting in a 2.7% increase in casualties to 24,905.<\/p>\n
Fatalities climbed 5.5% to 5,009\u00a0\u2013 an average of nearly 14 deaths per day. This underscores the urgent need for enhanced road safety enforcement.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Standard Gauge Railway (SGR)\u00a0recorded impressive growth. Cargo volumes rose by\u00a012.3% to 7.33 million tonnes, while cargo revenue jumped\u00a019.1% to KSh 16.6 billion.<\/p>\n
Passenger numbers on the SGR increased by\u00a011.6% to 2.73 million, with revenue up 17.0% \u2013 a clear sign that the SGR is becoming the preferred option for both freight and passenger movement.<\/p>\n
In contrast, the older\u00a0Meter Gauge Railway (MGR)\u00a0saw cargo revenue decline by 2.7% despite a 5.2% increase in cargo tonnage, hurt by the appreciation of the Kenya Shilling which lowered dollar-denominated tariffs.<\/p>\n
The most concerning trend was in air transport.\u00a0Passenger traffic declined by 1.2% to 12.68 million\u00a0passengers, breaking a steady post-pandemic recovery. Both international and domestic passenger numbers fell slightly.<\/p>\n
More dramatically, the\u00a0value of output from air transport plunged by 12.9%, and the sub-sector\u2019s real GVA contracted by a staggering\u00a043.7%. This was partly attributed to reduced cargo yields and operational disruptions.<\/p>\n
However, cargo handled at airports rose by 12.5% to\u00a0419,752 tonnes, with Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) handling over 97% of all air freight. Aircraft movements also increased by 5.3%, driven largely by a 12.5% rise in overflights.<\/p>\n
Pipeline transport of white petroleum products rose by\u00a08.0% to 9.19 million cubic metres, supported by higher transit volumes to neighboring countries.<\/p>\n
Grain storage leased out by the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) increased sharply \u2013 from 23.95 million to\u00a038.16 million 50-kg bags\u00a0\u2013 indicating improved commercial utilization of silos.<\/p>\n
The data which is compiled by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics and issued by the CS Treasury every year, few weeks before the national budget reading, points to a transport sector that is rapidly evolving but facing critical challenges<\/p>\n
Whereas the sector\u2019s growth of 3.7% is\u00a0moderately significant, it is held back by the air transport slump. Nevertheless, if rail and port momentum continues, and road safety improves, transportation could contribute bigger share of national growth.<\/p>\n
The national economy (GDP), when all sectors are aggregated, grew by 4.6 per cent in 2025 down from 4.7 per cent in 2024. The CS has attributed this to a number of factors both in the domestic as well as foreign scene.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The transportation and storage sector, which comprise a critical backbone of Kenya\u2019s economy, delivered a mixed performance in 2025, according to the newly released 2026 Economic Survey. The Survey released by Treasury CS John Mbadi shows that while road, rail, and port activities expanded significantly, the air transport sub-sector experienced a sharp contraction, revealing shifting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n