Ports and Terminals

Port of Santos registers a recovery in container handling for November

Dec, 22, 2020 Posted by Ruth Hollard

Week 202052

The Port of Santos experienced its best cargo-handling month ever in November. The accumulated result for the year registered 134.6 million tons, an increase of 0.45% over the entire year of 2019 – which was already a record – and 8.7% higher when compared to the first 11 months of the previous year.

The record number was mainly driven by shipments, which grew 12.9% in the period, to 98.7 million tons.

“The Port of Santos sets a new record and the month of November showed a recovery in the movement of containers, which was the sector that was most affected by the pandemic. By the end of the year, we expect a small growth of container handling in 2020 compared to 2019 ”, stated the CEO of Santos Port Authority (SPA), Fernando Biral.

In addition to the record in total loads, the first 11 months of 2020 also set records for certain loads for the period. Solid bulk goods increased 14.9% on an annual basis, to 70.5 million tons and liquid bulk also grew by double digits (10.7%), to 17.2 million tons.

Containers transporting loads with a greater added value decreased slightly by 0.3%, to 3.8 million TEU.

Considering only the month of November, containers had the highest monthly movement ever, registering 395,500 TEU, up 2.0% from the previous record obtained in August 2018, and 10.6% over November 2019.

In general cargo handling, there were 12.0 million tons, an increase of 9.5% over the annual basis. Both shipments and landings grew: 9.3% and 9.8%, respectively, to 8.4 million and 3.7 million tons.

The graph below shows the comparison of handling by type of cargo in the Port of Santos from January to October 2019 and 2020:

Port of Santos Handling by Cargo Type | Jan to Oct 2019-2020 | WTMT

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

In the foreign trade chain, there was stability in the participation of the Port of Santos, which accounted for 28.4% of Brazil’s total. The number of moorings in the year already reaches almost 4,500 ships, a slight increase of 1.4% over the same period in 2019.