Close to depletion, Santos sees fivefold cost for containers

Container handling at the Port of Santos (SP) is operating increasingly close to the limit and has raised alarm among experts, who point to an increase in logistics costs in the largest port complex in Latin America.

Data presented to CNN by consultant Luis Cláudio Montenegro, from Neowise Consultoria, shows that the increase in the queue of ships practically quintupled the average THC value (fee charged for the movement of containers in terminals).

According to a survey by the consultancy, between 2019 and 2026, this value went from US$70 to US$100 per TEU (standard 20-foot container) to around US$500.

Meanwhile, the Tecon Santos 10 auction continues to await a final definition. The government already postponed the event at least eight times.

The new mega container terminal is expected to attract almost R$6 billion in investments and increase the capacity to handle this type of cargo at the port by 50%.

Montenegro emphasizes that the values ​​indicated are estimates, since the contracts signed between shipowners (shipping companies) and terminals are considered strategic in nature and there is no public disclosure.

According to the consultant, price behavior directly follows the port’s installed capacity.

In 2011, THC was around US$300, but fell in the following years with the entry into operation of BTP and DP World in the Port of Santos, in 2013.

The two terminals expanded the complex’s capacity. “These terminals came in and the value plummeted. It was US$300 in 2011, fell to US$160 in 2015, went to US$90 in 2017 and reached US$70 in 2019”, he stated.

In the assessment of Montenegro, which provides services for the Swiss giant MSC, as of 2019 the terminals began to operate again close to the limit, driven mainly by the growth in demand and e-commerce.

Currently, according to him, the three container terminals in the port complex – Santos Brasil, BTP and DP World – are congested.

On the other hand, port terminals argue that the logistical problems that make port services, such as THC, more expensive, are mainly explained by bottlenecks in the land infrastructure providing access to ports.

“We have bottlenecks, but we also have the opportunity to face them head on and make the necessary investments. The bottlenecks are less within the port and more in the infrastructure, especially in land access”, says the director-president of ABTP (Brazilian Association of Port Terminals), Jesualdo Silva.

Although he admits that there are ports on the verge of operational saturation, he states that there are other port terminals idle. For him, there is an opportunity for the government to advance public policies to diversify transport modes, such as greater use of waterways.

“We have some concentrations in these ports that are most sought after, such as Santos, Paranaguá and other ports in the South. But, at the same time that we have this bottleneck, there are several terminals being built [com o objetivo de resolver esses problemas].”

Increase in the queue of ships

The survey also shows that the average waiting time for docking at the Port of Santos jumped from eight to nine hours in 2019 to around 35 hours in 2024, precisely due to saturation at the port.

In a statement, APS (Santos Port Authority) confirmed to CNN the increase in waiting time for ships to dock. However, the port manager highlighted that “from 2019 to 2025 there was a 42% increase in container movement at the Port of Santos, which actually puts pressure on the installed infrastructure”.

In recent years, container movement in Brazil has broken records with growth above the world average. Furthermore, this type of load has changed its profile recently.

According to a study by Antaq (National Land Transport Agency), shipowners operating in Brazil have been skipping calls – the practice occurs when a ship cancels a scheduled stop at a specific port and continues on to the next.

The survey also points out that shipowners delay cargo deliveries and fail to disclose window availability – the time interval scheduled for a ship to dock at the terminal, carry out the loading or unloading operation and vacate the berth.

The justification used for these omissions is that port terminals dedicated to container movement are operating beyond their limit, which creates problems for the operation of ships.

Loss of competitiveness

The consultant warns that, if the scenario persists, Brazil could lose competitiveness on international maritime routes. According to him, shipowners may stop calling larger ships in Brazilian ports.

“If it continues at this rate, Brazil will no longer receive large ships. And smaller ships have higher freight rates,” said Montenegro.

In recent years, the sector has invested in the implementation of Tecon Santos 10 as one of the main alternatives to reduce congestion at the port.

However, APS stated that, in addition to this terminal, it is working on other logistical options to attract shipowners and avoid congestion, such as deepening the waterway access channel to 16 meters and optimizing storage yards.

The port authority also informed that it has allocated three areas for the installation of logistics condominiums, which, according to APS, can improve efficiency between the back area and the port terminals.

*This post was generated based on information from the original feed. Credits and reference to the source were included at the end of the text.

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