Brazilian ports handle 104 million tonnes in January

Brazil’s port sector began the year maintaining its growth momentum. Data from Antaq’s statics dashboard for January show that the country’s ports handled 104 million tonnes of cargo, a 12.8% increase compared with the same period last year.

The figures were released on Friday (13) by the National Waterway Transportation Agency (ANTAQ) and confirm the continued expansion of port activity in Brazil.

At public ports, throughput reached 35.3 million tonnes, representing a 10.3% increase compared with January 2025. The Port of Santarém (PA) stood out, recording a 156.3% increase, totaling 1.6 million tonnes, the highest growth among the ten busiest ports by cargo flow in the first month of 2026.

According to Ports and Airports Minister Silvio Costa Filho, the monthly results highlight the strategic importance of the port sector for Brazil’s logistics system and the flow of national production.

“The result shows that Brazil’s port sector is experiencing a consistent period of expansion, and the numbers reflect the progress of infrastructure at our terminals and the operational capacity of the country’s ports,” he said.

National Ports Secretary Alex Ávila said the growth recorded at the start of the year reflects public policies and structural projects being implemented by the Ministry of Ports and Airports.

“Planning policies, new leases and concessions carried out by the ministry have expanded port capacity, attracted investment and improved the country’s logistics efficiency. This set of measures creates a more competitive environment and directly contributes to cargo throughput growth and to strengthening Brazil’s foreign trade,” he said.

Private-use terminals (TUPs) also posted strong performance, with 68.7 million tonnes handled, a 14.1% increase from the same period last year. Among the highlights was the TPET/TOIL oil terminal, located at the Port of Açu (RJ), which recorded 7.7 million tonnes of cargo, a 159.8% increase.

Cargo movement

Driven by rising exports of Brazilian goods, long-haul shipping, responsible for transporting goods between Brazil and other countries, continued to expand. In January, this segment handled 70.9 million tonnes, an 11% increase compared with the 64 million tonnes recorded in the same month last year.

The following ranking identifies the ports with the highest cargo throughput (combined export and import volumes) in long-haul shipping for January 2026, according to Datamar data:

Top Ports by Cargo Throughput | Jan 2026 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Cabotage shipping, which transports cargo between domestic ports, grew 15%, reaching 20.2 million tonnes handled. This type of shipping plays a key role in Brazil’s logistics system, enabling the transport of large cargo volumes between regions at lower cost and with lower environmental impact compared with road transport.

Looking at cargo types, breakbulk general cargo — which includes manufactured goods, equipment, vehicles and various products transported in containers or specialized units — fell 13.2%, totaling 4.9 million tonnes.

Containerized cargo increased 1.9%, reaching 13.2 million tonnes.

Solid bulk cargo, which includes agricultural and mineral products such as soybeans, corn, iron ore and fertilizers, totaled 54.7 million tonnes, up 10.4%.

Liquid bulk cargo, including fuels and other liquids transported in large volumes such as crude oil, petroleum products and chemicals, rose 29.7%, reaching 31.2 million tonnes.

Among the 10 most handled commodities in the period, crude oil led with 21.4 million tonnes, a 37.6% increase. Soybeans followed, with 4 million tonnes, a 114.3% increase, while sugar reached 2.2 million tonnes, up 31.3%.

Source: Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor)

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