UN Agency Confirms Santos as the Largest Port in Latin America

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), a United Nations (UN) agency, published its 2023-2024 Port Report on March 12, confirming the Port of Santos as the largest in Latin America. The publication is based on container movement data for 2023.

According to ECLAC, the Port of Santos ranks first in Latin America, handling 4.3 million TEUs. This figure considers only the public port, not the entire port complex. Following Santos in the ECLAC ranking are Manzanillo, Mexico, with 3.7 million TEUs; Cartagena, Colombia, with 3.3 million; Callao, Peru, with 2.8 million; and Manzanillo, Panama, with 2.6 million.

See bellow the historical long-haul container movement data at the Port of Santos (excluding cabotage). The data is from DataLiner:

Container Movements from Santos Port  JAN 2021- JAN 2025 TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

On the east coast of South America, the second-largest port in ECLAC’s statistics is Buenos Aires, Argentina, ranking 12th overall, with 1.4 million TEUs. Brazil’s second-largest port is Itajaí, considering only the private Portonave terminal, which handled 1.3 million TEUs.

Anderson Pomini, president of the Santos Port Authority, emphasized that the ECLAC report reinforces what the global industry has long recognized. “We are also the most important port in the Southern Hemisphere when considering all types of cargo. And we are working hard to grow even further, with infrastructure projects, new lease agreements such as Tecon Santos 10, and the significant expansion of the Port Polygon, which will attract investors worldwide.”

The ECLAC publication can be accessed at https://www.cepal.org/es/publicaciones/81386-informe-portuario-2023-2024-senales-mixtas-comercio-puertos-nuevas-disrupciones

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