Ports and Terminals

Record Cargo Throughput at Port of Santos in February

Apr, 01, 2024 Posted by Gabriel Malheiros

Week 202414

Cargo throughput at the Port of Santos remains strong, with February’s volume ending 30.4% higher than a year prior, reaching 14.3 million tonnes, the highest ever recorded for this period. This result boosted the year’s total to 26.2 million tonnes, marking a 23.9% increase over the first two months of 2023, the highest performance ever achieved in comparative terms. February mirrored the excellent performance in January, which also experienced double-digit growth (+16.9%).

The 35.2% surge in export cargo volume was pivotal for this outcome, with 10.8 million tons handled in the month and 18.8 million tons in the year-to-date (+27.2%). Imports saw an uptick, closing at 3.5 million tons, marking a 17.4% increase over February 2023. Discharges also saw an increase year-to-date, reaching 7.4 million tons (+16.1%).

Goods linked to agribusiness emerged as the highlight of the month and the year, with sugar throughput reaching 2.1 million tonnes in February (+136.3%) and totaling 4.2 million tons in the first two months of the year (+98.8%). Soybeans saw 4.0 million tons in February (+19.8%) and 4.2 million tons YTD (+21%).

Fertilizers stood out among imports, reaching 693.2 thousand tons in the month (+16.1%) and 1.5 million tons in the year (+22.8%). Corn also continued its upward trajectory in the month, with 145.4 thousand tons (+78.7%), despite a 21.9% drop year-to-date (1.2 million tons). Cellulose pulp performed well, growing 14.9% in the month, reaching 648.7 thousand tons, but dropping by 4.5% cumulatively to 1.2 million tons. Meat increased by 15.9% in the month (186.4 thousand tons) and 11.3% between January and February (337.9 thousand tons).

Container loading and unloading operations also fared well, reaching 402.4 thousand TEU in the month (+23.9%) and 813.2 thousand TEU in the first two months of the year (+20%).

The chart below compares container exports measured in TEUs in the first two months of the past three years. The data is from DataLiner.

Container Exports via Santos | Jan-Fev 2022 vs. 2024 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Ship traffic increased during the month, with 455 vessels (+16.1%), and in the year, totaling 894 vessels (+13%).

Cargo operations with solid bulks reached 7.7 million tonnes in the month (+34.5%) and 12.7 million tons in January and February (+25.6%), both figures representing the best marks for these periods. Liquid bulk products reached 1.4 million tons in the month (+12.1%), reflecting increased shipments of fuel oil (+12.2%) and discharges of diesel and gas oil (+263%). The year-to-date figure reached 3.2 million tons (+18%), marking the best performance for this period.

Trade Flow

The Port of Santos’ share in Brazilian trade flow increased in February, reaching 28.7%, compared to the same period last year (27.3%). Of the commercial transactions involving partners abroad, China held the largest share, accounting for 26.1%. The State of São Paulo retained its position as the Federation’s unit with the highest share of commercial transactions abroad, at 54.2%.

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