Port of Santos year-to-date cargo throughput climbs to 57 million tonnes in April 2024

The Port of Santos continues its record-breaking streak with a 13.5% increase in cargo throughput in 2024 compared to the first four months of last year, reaching a total of 57.0 million tonnes. This marks the highest throughput for this period. In April alone, the port handled 14.7 million tonnes, a 7.0% increase over April 2023, setting a new monthly record.

Anderson Pomini, president of the Port Authority of Santos (APS), celebrated the port’s success: “We will have public investments at around R$ 10 billion to support the expansion of the Port of Santos, in response to the growing demand for cargo movement.”

Shipments rose by 15.8% in the first four months, totaling 42.3 million tonnes, while unloading operations increased by 7.3%, reaching 14.6 million tonnes. In April, shipments totaled 11.2 million tonnes, up 11.1%, though offloading saw a 4.4% decline, amounting to 3.4 million tonnes.

A significant increase in sugar shipments was a highlight in the export sector. Sugar shipments totaled 7.2 million tonnes year-to-date, an 88.3% increase, with 1.0 million tonnes shipped in April, up 48.8%.

Coffee beans also saw substantial growth, with 818.4 thousand tons shipped in the first four months, a 60.3% increase, and 226.8 thousand tons in April, up 97.0%. Cellulose also had a good performance in April, with 841.3 thousand tonnes, a 26.7% increase, maintaining an annual volume of 2.6 million tonnes, a slight increase of 0.2%. Soymeal shipments grew by 21.5% year-to-date, reaching 3.1 million tonnes, and by 31.5% in April, totaling 1.0 million tonnes.

Containerized cargo also saw notable growth, with a 14.6% increase in April, amounting to 450,509 TEUs. The four-month period saw a 19% rise, reaching 1.72 million TEUs, the highest figures for these periods. This resulted in 19.1 million tons moved by April 2024, a 30.8% increase over the same period in 2023.

Solid bulk cargo totaled 28.5 million tonnes for the year, a 7% increase from the previous year, driven mainly by sugar and pelletized soybeans. Liquid bulk reached 6.4 million tonnes, a 9.2% increase, marking the best performance for this period, fueled primarily by increases in gasoline (40.3%), fuel oil (23.9%), and alcohol (22.4%).

The number of ship berthings rose by 6.4% in the first four months of the year, totaling 1,833.

The chart below shows maritime imports and exports of containers handled at the port. The information was derived from DataLiner.

Container Exp & Imp | Port of Santos | Jan 2021 – Mar 2024 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Commercial Flow

The Port of Santos’s share in Brazilian commercial transactions rose to 29.1% in April, up from 28.1% in the same period last year. Approximately 12% of Brazil’s international trade passing through Santos involved China.

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