Drought in the Amazon Fuels Record-Breaking Operations at Pecém Amid Soaring Global Demand

One of the terminal operators in the Pecém Port Complex, APM Terminals, set a record throughput for October, reaching 55,000 TEUs in a single month.

The company saw an 11% growth from January to October 2023 compared to the same period last year. Fruits are among the most handled products, with a 23% increase in exports from the fruit-producing regions of Ceará, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, and Bahia.

The port authority of the Pecém Complex expects that exports from the fruit sector will reach 180,000 tonnes this season, topping the previous season by 10,000 tonnes.

Daniel Rose, CEO of APM Terminals Pecém, highlights that October and November are typically the months with the highest cargo volume due to the intense demand from the United States and Europe.

Cargo flow also increased this year due to difficulties in docking at the ports of Manaus, with drought in the region. The Port of Pecém began receiving a significant portion of the containers and acted as an operational point to meet the demand. APM Terminals projects that the growth rate in the throughput will continue in 2024.

“Our expectation for next year is 10% growth on top of this year as we continue to grow. We are growing at a rate of about 11% this year. We have a significant presence in Pecém. For example, in 2016, we had 200,000 TEUs. “This year, we handled 460,000 TEUs, and next year, we will handle 500,000 TEUs,” said the CEO.

In addition to fruits, self-consumption cargo, and industrial inputs, such as iron plates and electrical equipment parts, are among the key goods handled in Pecém.

The chart below compares container exports and imports from the Port of Pecém between Jan 2019 and Sep 2023, according to data obtained through Datamar’s maritime intelligence service DataLiner.

Container exports and imports | Port of Pecém | Jan 2019 – Sep 2023 | TEU

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

LONG-HAUL SHIPPING 

Most of the operations at Pecém are coastal shipping (between ports), which moved more than 8 million tonnes between January and September. APM Terminals Pecém operates with five coastal shipping lines, connecting the South and Southeast regions with the North and Northeast.

Daniel Rose notes that the Port of Pecém is increasing its long-haul shipping operation. One of the determining factors is the strategic location of Pecém, with proximity to high-consumption markets like the United States, Europe, and Africa.

“In general, we are seeing strong growth here in Pecém based on coastal shipping, which is our main strength, but we are also seeing improvement in long-haul shipping. Overall, the world is starting to open its eyes to this port, which is becoming increasingly important. Pecém is the second-largest port in coastal shipping in the country. And we are growing in terms of long-haul shipping,” notes the CEO.

The port infrastructure needs to be constantly modernized to maintain competitiveness amid high demand. Daniel Rose explained that the operator recently invested R$ 150 million to purchase new equipment. The operation now has three state-of-the-art cranes, the first of their kind, installed at the terminal.

APM Terminals began operating at the Port of Pecém in 2002. The company operates terminals in 38 countries worldwide, with 14 in the Americas.

Source: Diário do Nordeste

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