Record Cargo Throughput at Port of Santos in February

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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