Brazilian ports boom in 1Q23 with 1.64% increase in cargo handling

Between January and March 2023, the Brazilian port sector handled 279.5 million tonnes of overall cargo. This number represents an increase of 1.64% compared to the same period in 2022 (275 million tonnes). This data is from Brazil’s National Waterway Transport Agency (ANTAQ) statistics panel.

March was the most crucial month for freight movement growth in the first quarter of 2023. The total for this period was 104.5 million tonnes, representing an 8.26% increase over the same month the previous year.

Iron ore was a positive highlight in the commodities sector during the quarter, totaling 75.8 million tonnes, indicating a 1.48% gain over 2022.

Other noteworthy cargoes are Corn, 8.9 million tonnes (growth of 155.34%); Soymeal, 4.5 million tonnes (an increase of 3.86%) and Petroleum (Crude Oil), 48.9 million tonnes (positive variation of 11.11%).

Types of Navigation

Inland navigation was responsible for transporting 19.2 million tonnes, which represents a positive variation of 9.62% compared with 2022. Long Course navigation, in turn, brought a growth of 1.6%, with the movement between January and March totaling 190.7 million tonnes. Cabotage shipping handled 68.9 million tonnes, a slight decrease of 0.09%.

Organized Ports

Brazilian public ports, also known as organized ports, handled 96.84 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2023, representing 0.2% growth compared to the previous year.

Port of São Francisco do Sul, in Santa Catarina, was the highlight among public ports, with 3.7 million tonnes handled, representing a growth of 24.53% compared with the first quarter of 2022. The Port of Santarém and Itaqui round off the podium with 3.7 million (+22) and 7.2 million (+16.3) tonnes handled.

Click here to find out which ports had the highest import and export rates for containerized cargo in Brazil and the Plate region in the first quarter of 2023 compared to last year. The data used to formulate the rankings were gathered using DataLiner, Datamar’s cutting-edge business intelligence platform.

Authorized Ports

The Terminals for Private Use (TUPs) handled 182.638 million tons between January and March 2023.

Among the port facilities with significant growth is the Tubarão Terminal in Santa Catarina, with 16.5 million tonnes handled and an increase of 26.0%; the Tpet/Toil Oil Terminal, located in the Port of Açu in Rio de Janeiro, with 9.1 million tonnes handled and a growth of 61.1%; and, the Porto Sudeste do Brasil S/A Terminal (Rio de Janeiro), with 5.2 million tonnes and a growth of 31.1%. However, Portonave’s container terminal is the highlight in this cargo profile, with a movement of 3.5 million tonnes (or 310,393 TEU) and growth of 20.2%.

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