TCP Reaches Historic Milestone of 1.5 Million TEUs for the First Time

The Paranaguá Container Terminal (TCP) has reached a historic milestone, handling 1.5 million TEUs for the first time in its 26-year history. The achievement was celebrated in a ceremony at the terminal’s pier on Wednesday morning (18th), with leaders from TCP and Portos do Paraná in attendance.

To provide a sense of scale, 1.5 million TEUs equate to 9,144 kilometers in container length, roughly the same as the straight-line distance between Paranaguá and Barcelona, Spain (9,085 kilometers).

Rafael Stein Santos, TCP’s Institutional and Legal Manager, highlighted, “In 2021, we celebrated reaching 1 million TEUs. Now, just three years later, we’ve achieved 1.5 million TEUs, a 50% increase that reflects the company’s solidity and, above all, the professionalism of the team that made it happen.

This year, when volumes exceeded all expectations, the Terminal benefitted from the infrastructure investments made over recent years. The support of the port authority, the navy, and the pilotage services was also crucial to this achievement. We look forward to further consolidating TCP and the Port of Paranaguá as a global benchmark corridor for exports and imports in the coming years.”

During the event, authorities gathered at the pier for a toast to the symbolic lifting of the 1,500,000th container, which was loaded onto the vessel Maersk Laguna. The ship measures 300 meters in length (LOA) and 45 meters in width (beam) and has a capacity of 7,564 TEUs.

The recent updates to the port’s draft — the vertical distance between the ship’s keel and the water’s surface — carried out by Portos do Paraná, along with rock removal works to eliminate navigational obstacles, have enhanced safety and productivity across the entire port complex.

Luiz Fernando Garcia, CEO of Portos do Paraná, explained that the Port of Paranaguá is now equipped to receive heavier ships, enabling safer and more efficient maneuvers and operations. “We will also see reduced waiting times for berthing and departure, providing financial advantages to customers who can now handle larger cargo volumes per trip more quickly,” Garcia added.

TCP Investments Total Over R$370 Million in Two Years

Over the past two years, TCP has invested more than R$370 million in projects, including the construction of a power substation, the expansion of reefer container storage capacity, the modernization of the operational gate and maintenance buildings, and the acquisition of 11 new rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGs) and 17 terminal tractors (TTs).

Exports and Imports Surpass 10 Million Tons

In its most recent performance report, covering results through November, TCP reported that combined import and export cargo volumes exceeded 10 million tons (cargo weight only, excluding container weight).

Exports grew by 18% compared to last year’s period, increasing from 481,153 TEUs to 586,000 TEUs. The largest growth was in agricultural commodity exports, which rose by 33% to 217,519 TEUs. Despite this, frozen meat products remain the leading export segment, with 233,314 TEUs shipped through the Container Terminal of Paranaguá.

Imports increased by 20% between January and November 2024, reaching 298,004 TEUs. Highlights included consumer goods (94,873 TEUs), up 20%, and automotive products (80,884 TEUs), which rose by 11%.

Here is a historical data overview of container throughput at the Port of Paranaguá from January 2021 to October 2024. The data stems from DataLiner. It is worth reiterating that DataLiner data only considers long-haul shipments, not including transshipment, cabotage, docking clearance, or transits.

Container Throughput at Port of Paranaguá | Jan 2021 to Oct 2024 | TEU

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

This cargo volume was transported by 910 ships that docked at TCP’s pier over the 11 months of 2024, a 21% increase from the 749 vessels recorded by November 2023. “In 2024, the availability of long-haul maritime services expanded, and cabotage operations resumed, further solidifying TCP’s national leadership with a total of 25 weekly calls. Additionally, with the berthing of the first 366-meter-long vessels — the largest operating in Brazil — and the recent increase in operational draft, we have reinforced to the market that TCP is firmly positioned to become one of the main port hubs on the east coast of South America,” said Carolina Merkle Brown, TCP’s Shipping Lines Commercial Manager.

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