Valparaíso region ports lift cargo throughput 6.5% in March, led by imports, INE reports

Ports and terminals in Chile’s Valparaíso region handled 4.15 million tonnes of cargo in March 2026, up 6.5% from the same month a year earlier, Chile’s National Statistics Institute (INE) said.

The March total was also 8.5% higher than February, an increase of 0.32 million tonnes, according to the data.

Total loaded cargo reached 1.49 million tonnes in March, up 4.7% year on year and 14.5% from February. Export cargo loaded totaled 1.28 million tonnes, down 1.1% from March 2025 but up 17.7% month on month. Coastal shipping (cabotage) loaded amounted to 0.21 million tonnes, jumping 63% from a year earlier.

On the inbound side, total cargo discharged reached 2.6 million tonnes, a 7.2% increase from March 2025, INE said. Discharges from abroad totaled 2.5 million tonnes, while cabotage discharges were 0.10 million tonnes, up 32.1% year on year.

Cargo handled as re-stows and transshipments totaled 0.06 million tonnes, up 29% from a year earlier, INE said.

In the first three months of 2026, ports in the region handled 12.09 million tonnes, up 0.2% from the same period last year.

Cargo mix

Containerized foreign-trade cargo accounted for 54.8% of total throughput in March, or 2.07 million tonnes, down 3.6% from a year earlier, INE said.

Of total containerized cargo, exports represented 51% — 1.06 million tonnes — while imports accounted for 49%, or 1.02 million tonnes.

Other cargo types totaled 1.71 million tonnes, equivalent to 45.2% of foreign-trade cargo, up 14.3% year on year, the data showed.

Liquid and gaseous bulk cargo reached 0.95 million tonnes, representing 25.1% of foreign-trade cargo, up 31.8% from March 2025. Solid bulk cargo totaled 0.50 million tonnes, or 13.3% of the total, down 3.9%. General cargo reached 0.26 million tonnes, or 6.9% of foreign-trade cargo, up 1.9%, INE said.

Containers

In TEU terms, the region’s ports handled 255,604 TEUs in March 2026, down 3.6% year on year, a decline of 9,507 TEUs, the data showed.

Forty-foot containers fell 5.2% from a year earlier, down 6,296 units, while 20-foot containers rose 12.4%, adding 3,085 units.

From January to March 2026, 40-foot containers were down 1.9% and 20-foot containers were up 8.4%, leaving total container volumes down 0.9% over the period, INE said.

Source: Portal Portuario

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