TCP handles 835,000 TEUs, setting first-half record

The Paranaguá Container Terminal handled 835,000 TEUs in the first half of 2026, setting a new record for the period. The result was 4% higher than the 803,000 TEUs handled in the same period of 2025.

The performance was driven by growth in both full-container exports and imports. Export volumes rose 10%, from 3.82 million tonnes to 4.18 million tonnes, while imports increased 9%, from 1.50 million tonnes to 1.64 million tonnes.

Among export cargoes, the strongest performances came from meat and frozen products, which totaled 2.03 million tonnes, up 16%, and paper and pulp, which grew 9%. On the import side, the automotive segment reached 292,000 tonnes, 8% above the previous year, while consumer goods rose 10% to 106,000 tonnes.

“With advances in infrastructure, customized services, specialized customer care and the largest portfolio of maritime services in the country, the terminal closed the first half with the best performance in its history. This reflects higher export and import volumes from consolidated customers, as well as the addition of new clients,” said Fabio Mattos, TCP’s commercial manager.

TCP has the largest number of maritime services among Brazilian container terminals, with 22 regular weekly services, including cabotage and long-haul routes. These services connect Paranaguá with Brazil’s coast and ports in the Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia. In the first half of the year, 514 vessels called at TCP’s quay.

At the terminal’s road gates, TCP recorded the passage of 332,000 containers in the first half, up 8% from 297,000 units in the same period of 2025.

TCP is also the only container terminal in southern Brazil with a direct connection between its bonded area and the railway network. From January to June, the terminal received 661 trains and 53,000 full containers for export.

That volume is expected to rise by around 20% following the completion, in July, of an expansion of the maneuvering area inside the operating yard. The project added 757 meters of railway track.

“The railway connects Paranaguá to western and northern Paraná and is a strategic solution mainly for paper, pulp and poultry exporters. The completion of the project will strengthen handling capacity and should increase the use of rail in our customers’ logistics chains,” Mattos said.

Reefer cargo grows on poultry exports

Refrigerated container, or reefer, handling also reached a first-half record. TCP handled 76,000 reefer containers in the period, up 10% from 69,000 units in the first half of 2025. The result was driven mainly by poultry shipments.

According to the Brazilian Animal Protein Association, known as ABPA, Brazil posted its best-ever first-half result for poultry exports, with shipments reaching 2.94 million tonnes, up 12.9%. Revenue totaled $5.7 billion, 17% higher than in the same period of 2025.

At TCP, poultry shipments rose 18%, above the national average, increasing from 1.12 million tonnes to 1.31 million tonnes. As a result, the terminal expanded its share of Brazil’s poultry exports from 45% to 47%. The main destinations were China, with 10%; South Africa, with 9%; and the United Arab Emirates, with 8%.

“2025 was a challenging year for poultry producers because of restrictions on shipments after an avian influenza outbreak was detected in the country. Once the case was resolved, export volumes began to rise sharply in December, and in 2026 TCP reached a 47% share of national poultry shipments,” Mattos said.

In beef, the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association, known as Abiec, reported that Brazil shipped 1.71 million tonnes in the first half, up 15.5%. Revenue rose 36.2% to $9.85 billion.

TCP’s performance in the segment remained stable, with 364,000 tonnes of beef shipped through the terminal, equivalent to a 23% share of Brazilian exports. The main destinations were China, with 48%; the United States, with 12%; and Russia, with 7%.

Mattos said TCP has Brazil’s largest refrigerated container storage yard, with 5,280 outlets. In August, the terminal is completing the installation of an additional 220 outlets, bringing total capacity to 5,500 plugs.

New investments are already planned, and TCP expects to have more than 6,000 outlets by the end of 2027, further strengthening Paranaguá’s position as Brazil’s leading export corridor for meat and frozen products.

Source: TCP

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