Port of Santos reaches 42.8 million tonnes in first quarter, overtaking record 1999 full-year total

Cargo throughput at the Port of Santos reached 16.9 million tonnes last month, a record for March and the second-best monthly result in the port’s history. In the year to date, throughput totaled 42.8 million tonnes, also a new record for the period. With that result, the first quarter of 2026 already surpassed the port’s full-year volume in 1999, when it handled 42.7 million tonnes, and came close to the best annual result of the 20th century, 43.1 million tonnes, underscoring the rapid growth of the largest port structure in the Southern Hemisphere.

Container throughput reached 485,000 TEUs in March 2026, up 5.4% from the same month last year and the best result ever recorded for March. In the first quarter, the total of 1.4 million TEUs represented a 3.6% increase compared with 2025.

The chart below shows monthly container export and import volumes through Santos, according to data from the DataLiner platform:

Container Exports and Imports | Port of Santos | Jan 2023 – Feb 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Liquid bulk throughput totaled 5 million tonnes in the first three months of the year, up 11.6% from the same period in 2025 and the best first-quarter result on record. In March alone, the port handled 1.8 million tonnes, with gasoline, fuel oil, diesel and gasoil shipments standing out, rising 26.3%, 38.4% and 22.0%, respectively.

Solid bulk cargo reached 20.5 million tonnes in the first quarter, up 11.6%, representing a 5.2% increase from the same period of 2025. In March, throughput totaled 8.8 million tonnes, down 0.3%, with sugar shipments up 9.1% and bulk soybean meal up 9.8%.

Port of Santos’ importance to Brazil

The Port of Santos accounted for 28% of Brazil’s total trade flow in the first three months of the year. During the period, China consolidated its position as the country’s main trading partner: about 30.7% of Brazil’s foreign trade passing through the Port of Santos had the Asian country as either origin or destination. Trade with China totaled $12.98 billion in the first quarter, compared with $4.39 billion with the United States, Brazil’s second-largest trading partner.

São Paulo was the state with the largest share of Brazil’s foreign trade through the Port of Santos in the first quarter of 2026. Transactions involving the state totaled $21.84 billion, equivalent to 51.9% of the overall figure.

“These figures prove the strength of the Port of Santos and the serious, responsible work carried out by the port community and by the public manager of this giant Brazilian asset. We should be proud of this port, and that is why we are working to prepare it for the next 20 years,” said Anderson Pomini, president of the Santos Port Authority.

Source: Porto de Santos

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