The Brazilian Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq) released, on September 15, a report on the cargo movement of Brazilian ports. According to the Agency’s Statistical Panel, the month of July ended with a positive balance, an increase of 2.23% in cargo throughput compared to the same period of the previous year, totaling 109.7 million tonnes.
The general loose cargo was the most transported cargo category in Brazil, up 8.33% in throughput, influenced by the increase in pulp demand (13.7%) and semi-trailers (+185.4%). Second in the ranking, solid bulk increased by 5.89%, thanks to increased movements of iron ore (2.9%) and corn (54.2%). Containerized cargo grew by 1.93%, and liquid bulk dropped by 7.55%.
The throughput of the port sector was 690.9 million tonnes year-to-date, with a negative variation of 2.5% compared to 2021. However, it is important to remember that 2021 was the record year of Brazilian port throughput.
Inland navigation continued to grow above other styles of navigation. In July, inland navigation increased by 16.8%, with a throughput of 7.6 million tonnes. Cabotage was responsible for moving 24.9 million, which aided navigation to obtain a positive variation of 5.4%. Long-distance shipping transported 76.9 million tonnes in the period, an increase of 0.2% compared to the same month of 2021. Of all navigation modalities, only inland navigation grew by 8.5% from January to July. The others saw a reduction.
In July, public ports grew by 8.5%, while private ports registered a drop of 0.9%. Regarding public ports, Santos (SP), Paranaguá (PR), Itaqui (MA), and Suape (PE) were some that showed a positive variation in the period, with the movement of 11.7; 5.2; 3.1, and 2.2 million tonnes, respectively. The highlight was Santarém (PA), which recorded growth of 84.9% in the period, having handled 1.5 million tonnes.
Regarding private use terminals (TUPs), the Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal was the facility with the highest cargo throughput, with 15.9 million tonnes (+7.2%). The Tubarão Terminal (ES) was second, with 6.5 million tonnes (-3.3%). In third came the São Sebastião Terminal (SP), which saw the movement of 4.8 million tonnes (+24.9%).
The movement of goods in the mining sector recorded growth in July, totaling 40.5 million tons (3.6%). In addition to the increase in iron ore exports, bauxite (22%), manganese (409.3%), and copper ore (54.2%) also increased compared to July 2021.
Brazilian ports handled 28.4 million tonnes (8.35%) of agricultural products. In addition to corn, the following commodities saw increases: sugar (11.9%), cellulose pulp (13.7%), and soy oil (10.5%). On the other hand, the fuel segment experienced a 7.8% decrease in movement.
