In 2010 the port of Grimsby handled 54 million tonnes of cargo traffic, consolidating its place in the higher echelons of the major UK ports. Included in this traffic is a diverse range of cargoes, from 250,000 vehicles to vessels carrying 6,000 tonnes of container cargo.

The port of Grimsby is well located for inland transit of shipping containers, leaving the port via the A180 arterial road, it is only 16 miles to the UK motorway network. Firstly containers in transit would join the M181 with the first major destination being Scunthorpe (27 miles), where the link to the M180 is seamless and takes any cargo onto the M18. Travelling south on the M18 the destination for containers would be Doncaster (50 miles), and continuing from there, cargo would join the M1 motorway. From here the whole country opens up. Travelling south on the M1 cargo would reach Sheffield (69 miles), Nottingham (102 miles), and can be transported all the way to the capital, London (226 miles). For cargo needing to be transported North or West, there is the option of the M1 North, or the M62. Taking either route will take containers in transit into Leeds (78 miles), and then heading west for Manchester (115 miles) and further onto the West coast and Liverpool (143 miles). Alternatively if cargo is needed further north, it can be transported via the A1(M) taking in the destinations of Darlington (127 miles), up to Newcastle (161 miles), and on into Scotland.

Grimsby dates back to the times of the Vikings. During the 12th century Grimsby was a thriving fishing and trading port, and continued to grow and prosper up to the 15th century, when the silting up of the haven began a long period of decline. By the start of the 19th century the population for a town the size of Grimsby was very low, only measuring around 1,500 residents. This changed dramatically and quite quickly with investment in the port throughout the 19th century, and by the start of the 20th century the town had more than 75,000 residents. During WWII Grimsby escaped the mass bombing that its neighbouring port, Hull Suffered, although it was the main UK base for minesweepers, who would patrol the North Sea.

Since the start of the 20th century, with investment and growth, the port of Grimsby is now well established as one of the major world trading ports.