Port of Itajaí cargo throughput rises 40% in first four months of 2026

The Port of Itajaí, in Santa Catarina, is in a period of expansion. After operations resumed under federal government management, the port complex has recorded growth in cargo throughput and is preparing for a new investment cycle with the concession of its waterway access channel, a project that calls for R$311 million in investments over 25 years.

The results are already reflected in operational figures. After closing 2025 with 4.76 million tonnes handled, the port maintained its growth pace in 2026. In the first four months of the year, throughput reached 1.67 million tonnes, up nearly 40% from the same period in 2025. In April alone, volume totaled 430,300 tonnes, a 57% increase from April 2025, according to data from the port complex.

In total, the Port of Itajaí handled 76,902 TEUs in long-haul operations in the first four months of 2026. The chart below shows the monthly volumes recorded at the port in both the export and import trades, according to Datamar data:

Exports & Imports | Port of Itajaí | Sep 2024 – Apr 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

New investment cycle

The Ministry of Ports and Airports and the National Waterway Transportation Agency are preparing an auction for the concession of the Port of Itajaí’s access channel, a project designed to expand the complex’s capacity to handle larger vessels and higher cargo volumes. It will be the second auction of a public access channel in Brazil’s history.

With estimated investments of R$311 million, the concession provides for the expansion, maintenance and operation of the channel infrastructure over the next 25 years.

National Ports Secretary Alex Ávila said the project consolidates Brazil’s new model for managing waterway infrastructure, which began with the concession of the Paranaguá channel.

“This format allows for more efficient channel management, improves navigation safety and helps increase the competitiveness of the Port of Itajaí,” he said.

The contract includes periodic dredging, continuous maintenance, nautical signaling and integrated waterway traffic management, with the goal of ensuring operational predictability, greater navigation safety and increased capacity to receive larger vessels.

By the end of the contract, the channel is expected to be able to support throughput of up to 3.43 million TEUs per year, increasing the complex’s competitiveness and strengthening its strategic position in Brazil’s logistics network.

Historic recovery

The results reflect the recovery process that began after the port returned to federal management. In January 2025, the Santos Port Authority temporarily took over administration of the Port of Itajaí with the task of restoring the complex’s operating capacity and preparing its structure for a new growth cycle.

Progress came quickly. Between January and August 2025, the port handled 2.5 million tonnes, 127% more than in all of 2024, when throughput totaled 1.1 million tonnes, according to Antaq data.

The port had faced a shutdown of roughly a year and a half, which ended in 2023. Since then, the resumption of operations, together with renewed market confidence and management restructuring, has driven the complex’s results.

The port is currently managed by Companhia Docas do Estado da Bahia, or Codeba. Since operations resumed, the Port of Itajaí has generated more than R$227 million in revenue, resources that have helped support new investments, infrastructure modernization and expanded operating capacity.

At the same time, maintenance work on the access channel is ongoing. The port is operating normally and has a definitive dredging contract in place, as well as technical monitoring by the Brazilian Navy and Antaq to ensure safety, predictability and competitiveness in operations. Maintaining channel depths is considered essential for the approval of navigation conditions and for receiving increasingly larger vessels.

Source: Portal Portuário.

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