Paranaguá Container Terminal Celebrates 26th Anniversary with Record Productivity

Celebrating 26 years of history on Saturday, April 13, TCP, the company that manages the Paranaguá Container Terminal, achieved new productivity records in the first quarter of 2024. Among them is container throughput, which reached 373,522 TEUs, a result 38% higher than the 271,024 TEUs recorded in the first three months of 2023. Of this total, 133,083 TEUs were handled in March alone, setting a new monthly record, 4.07% higher than the previous maximum in December 2023.

During this period, the main commodities handled by the terminal experienced significant increases, such as exports of wood (+61%), which went from 18,666 to 30,045 TEUs, equivalent to 441,485 tons; paper and pulp (+116%), rising from 10,003 to 21,624 TEUs, equal to 289,106 tons; and meats and frozen products (+11%), which increased from 59,836 to 66,544 TEUs, corresponding to 1,056,558.44 tons.

On meats and frozen products, the main segment of TCP operations, the commercial, logistics, and service manager, Giovanni Guidolim, highlights the strategic investment in expanding the area dedicated to refrigerated container storage. “Expanding the number of outlets by 45%, from 3,624 to 5,268, positions TCP as the largest reefer yard in all of South America, allowing us to offer the market greater operational flexibility both in terms of container storage and in greater flexibility for early receipt before ship berthing,” he emphasizes.

Guidolim also pointed out that, even in challenging times for maritime transport, the most recent investments in terminal infrastructure have provided greater flexibility and security. “The increase in operations is the result of our focus on customer service, which relies on our service. The arrival of new equipment, such as the 11 RTGs and 17 Terminal Tractors, in addition to the modernization of our gate, which is expected to be completed later this month, has brought greater operational power, resulting in efficiency gains and agility for exporters, importers, and shipowners.”

With a fleet of machines consisting of 40 RTGs, responsible for loading and unloading containers from trucks to stacks, and 69 Terminal Tractors (TTs), which transport containers from stacks to the quay, the Paranaguá Container Terminal managed to absorb the increased demand in the market. This is aided by the refurbishment of the gates, which are access points for road transport to the terminal, which, with modernization and new embedded technologies, can triple the flow of truck passage, reaching up to 150 appointments per hour.

New maritime services, record berths, and the arrival of mega-ships

In addition to the historic container throughput, TCP also achieved a new record in the number of berths: there were 258 in the first quarter, an average of 86 vessels per month. The peak for a month occurred in February, which, despite being a shorter month, recorded 89 berths.

Today, the Paranaguá Container Terminal offers 22 weekly services, being considered the terminal with the highest concentration of maritime lines in the country. In 2024 alone, three new lines, one long-haul, connecting the east coast of South America to the Gulf of the United States, and two coastal, have been added to TCP’s portfolio.

The commercial manager of shipowners, Carolina Merkle Brown, explains that “with recent investments in infrastructure, TCP works to establish itself as one of the main port hubs in South America, concentrating shipowners’ operations efficiently, as well as offering greater security and agility to receive the largest ships arriving on the Brazilian coast.”

In the first quarter of 2024, the Terminal received the largest vessels in history to dock at its quay: three ships with 366 meters in length and a capacity to store over 14,400 TEUs arrived at TCP. “Operating container ships of this size represents an advantage for shipowners, as well as for exporters and importers, as it increases operational capacity in Paranaguá, providing greater transport capacity for our clients,” Carolina concludes.

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