Cargo Surge: Port of Santos Hits 16M Tonnes in March, Year-to-Date Growth at 15.9%

In March, the Port of Santos posted a throughput of 16.0 million tonnes of cargo, establishing a new record for this period, surpassing last year’s figure by 5.0% (15.3 million tonnes). This exceptional performance propelled the year-to-date figures for the first quarter to 42.3 million tons, marking another record, with an impressive increase of 15.9%.

Once again, sugar emerges as a top commodity, with shipments totaling 1.9 million tons in March alone, marking a remarkable 95.6% surge compared to the previous year, and reaching 6.1 million tons year-to-date, representing an extraordinary increase of 97.8%. Containerized cargo also demonstrated robust growth, with volumes reaching 454,645 TEUs in March, up by 21.6%, and totaling 1.2 million TEUs year-to-date, marking a significant increase of 20.6%.

Other commodities such as meat, green coffee beans, and soybean meal exhibited strong performance, with respective month-on-month increases of 46%, 39.2%, and 1.4%, and year-to-date increases of 22.1%, 49.6%, and 17.3%. Notably, diesel oil and gas oil among bulk liquids stood out with a staggering monthly growth of 241.4% (272.3 thousand tons) and an annual growth of 197.0% (672.7 thousand tons).

Anderson Pomini, president of the Santos Port Authority (APS), anticipates concluding the year with significant shipments of sugar (23.5 million tons), soybeans (31.9 million tons), and corn (20.2 million tons). Pomini elaborates, stating that “the infrastructure to accommodate agricultural crops is expanding within the Santos port complex, with multinational food players investing in the port’s grain-handling capacity.”

Overall, shipments in March totaled 12.3 million tons, marking a notable 5.5% growth, while year-to-date shipments reached 31.1 million tons, reflecting an impressive increase of 17.6% over the same period in 2023. Offloading operations amounted to 3.7 million tons, representing a 3.3% increase compared to March of the previous year, with the cumulative volume for the quarter reaching 11.1 million tons, also demonstrating growth of 11.5%.

Solid bulk cargo totaled 8.5 million tons in March (+5.1%) and 21.2 million tons year-to-date (+11.2%), setting a new record for the period. Liquid bulk reached 1.7 million tons in March (+2.0%) and 4.9 million tons in the quarter (+11.8%), marking the highest accumulated figure for the period.

The chart below compares container exports (measured in TEUs) in the first two months of the last three years. The data is from DataLiner.

Container Exports via Santos | Jan-Feb 2022 x Jan-Feb 2024 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Ship dockings in the first three months of the year reached 1,381 vessels, reflecting a robust growth of 7.7%.

Trade Flow

The Port of Santos’ cumulative participation in Brazil’s trade flow demonstrated growth, reaching 29.3% compared to the same period in the previous year (27.9%). Notably, about 16.6% of national commercial transactions with foreign countries involved China as a partner. São Paulo maintains its position as the state with the highest participation in foreign trade transactions through Santos, accounting for 34.5%.

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