2021 Port of Santos cargo handling off to a great start

According to the Santos Port Authority (SPA), the Port of Santos started the year 2021 recording record volumes of movement. The total volume of cargo was 9.18 million tons, 10.5% higher than in 2020 (8.31 million) and 1.4% higher than the last record for January set in 2018 (9.05 million). Containerized cargo registered 374.1 thousand TEU, 10.5% above the same period in 2020 (338.5 thousand TEU) when the previous record had also been registered. 3.9 million tons were registered, a record for this modality in January, surpassing the previous record obtained in 2018 (3.6 million tons) by 7.8% and surpassing the 2020 level by 10.1% (3,5 million).

The container-movement numbers maintain the trend of positive results observed in recent months and now have the potential to be boosted even higher by the approval of the arrival of 366-meter-type ships at the Port of Santos: “This coming week, the Navy is allowing Santos to receive larger container ships and this, together with the implementation of BR do Mar, means we can predict greater growth in this market in Santos ”, says Fernando Biral, president of SPA, referring to an incentive project by the Ministry of Infrastructure cabotage.

In total, shipments reached 5.71 million tons, surpassing the figures for January 2020 by 8.9%. Ship unloadings, on the other hand, totaled 3.47 million, 13.1% above the same period last year. The busiest products in the Port of Santos were sugar (1.33 million); fertilizer (698,300); corn (604,100) and soybean meal (414,200). Solid bulk reached 3.3 million tons, an increase of 11.0% over the result of January 2020. In this modality, shipments of bulk sugar, soybean meal, and corn continue to perform well, showing a growth of 47.5%, 56.9%, and 13.6%, respectfully, over the figures for January 2020.

It is also worth noting the fertilizer shipments increased by 77.7%. Liquid bulk also performed well, totaling 1.5 million tons, 9.0% above the same period last year. This was a record level for January, exceeding the volume registered in 2018 by 3.2%. In this modality, shipments of diesel oil and diesel  (+ 67.7%), citrus juices (+56.8 %), and fuel oil (+ 17.8%). 342 ships docked at the Port of Santos in January, 9.5% fewer than in January 2020, characterizing the increase in the volume of cargo per vessel.

Consult the charts below for a history of cargo handling at the Port of Santos and a comparison of cargo handling by type:

Source: DataLiner

Graph source: DataLiner (To request a DataLiner demo click here)