It is a ‘good kind of problem’ to have: the Port of Barcelona faces a year ahead that will be hard to match, concerning volume, which means business boomed in 2017, and the outlook for 2018 is promising as well.

The unions have accepted a 10 percent cut in wages and early retirement for its older members.

The strikes follow months of slowdown.

The dockers’ unions have called for negotiations with the government and port employers.

The unrest has its roots in a European Court of Justice ruling from 2014.

Spurred by growing container volumes, terminal operator Hutchison Port Holdings’ Barcelona subsidiary has expanded the port’s hinterland connectivity.

BARCELONA, Spain — In the middle of the rolling coastal mountains near this Mediterranean seaport a huge auto plant sprawls. The SEAT plant, which serves as the headquarters of Spain’s only domestic automaker, makes four different models, three under SEAT brand names and the Audi Q3, which is part of the family of cars produced by Volkswagen of Germany, which acquired control of the Spanish company in 1986. Most of the plant’s production is bound for export markets in Europe, Asia and Latin America.