Ports and Terminals

Cargo movement in the Port of Santos breaks new record in July

Aug, 28, 2019 Posted by Sylvia Schandert

Week 201936

July recorded the best monthly cargo movement in the history of the Port of Santos. There were 12.74m tons of cargo handled, which is 2.1% above the previous record (12.48m in August 2018) and 7.3% in the same month last year (11.87m). Year-to-date, the Port of Santos was stable at 76.33m tons, down 0.01% from the same period last year (76.34m). The figures were compiled by the Santos Port Authority’s Rate and Statistics Management.

Another noteworthy figure is the handling of containers, the 2nd best monthly of the Port, totaling 370,407 TEUs, a 7.1% increase over the same month last year (345,748 TEUs). The historical record is August 2018, with 387,791 TEUs.

Shipments through the Port of Santos also reached their second best monthly result ever: 9.09m (the record was set in August 2017, with minimal percentage difference). The growth compared to July 2018 was 6.1%. The cargo with the biggest movement this month was corn, also with record volume: 3.03m tons, practically 1/3 of total shipments.

On landings, July 2019 registered 3.66m tons, a record for the month and the second best monthly move in history (the record was recorded in November 2018: 3.73m tons). The growth compared to the same month last year was 10.6%.

In addition to maize, the loads with higher movement in the month were those of the soy complex (grains and bran added up), with 1.73m tons; sugar (1.31m tons), and fertilizer (the first on landings, with 623,340 tons).

Annual turnover

Cargo movement at the Port of Santos in 2019, until July, was 76.33m tons, the second best historical result for the period. Total shipments were 54.13m, a 0.8% decrease over the same period last year. The largest tonnage of cargo was the soy complex, with a mark of 19.68m, down 8.7% compared to 2018 (21.55m tons).

The second product was sugar, with a mark of 7.56m tons. The result is 9.2% lower than 2018 (8.32m tons, from January to July). In 3rd place is corn, with 5.42m tons. The growth is 99.7%, not only because of a larger crop, but also reflecting the deadlock in freight prices that affected the harvest flow last year. Other cargoes that stood out for their volume were pulp (2.78m tons, up 11% over 2018) and coffee (1.29m tons).

In the landings flow, there was a growth of 2% compared to the first seven months of 2018. It was 22.20m tons, compared to 21.77m last year. The most handled product was fertilizer, with 2.71m tons, being the 5th largest tonnage cargo in the Port of Santos. Compared to 2018, there was an increase of 34.9% (2.01m). The 2nd most landed cargo was diesel oil, with 1.26m tons. In 3rd, sulfur, with 1.06m tons (16.5% reduction).

Ship moorings totaled 429 in July, 15 more than on an annual basis. In the year, however, there was a drop from 2,854 to 2,789 moorings during the period, which means that the average consignment (amount of cargo per ship) rose 2.77%, from 27,539 tons per vessel in 2018 to 28,301 this year. This calculation only takes cargo ships into account.

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