Brazil Targets Port Chaos with Record Auctions, New Legislation as Container Volume Soars

Revising the Ports Law (Law No. 12,815/2013) and a record wave of new lease offerings may help end the logistics chaos in Brazil’s port sector in 2024. In addition to eight terminals auctioned last year, another 42 projects are expected to go to auction, totaling R$22.86 billion in investments. This includes 16 leases and five concessions in 2025 (R$19.75 billion) and 20 leases and one concession in 2026 (R$3.1 billion).

“We had an exceptional year, with port throughput reaching 1.32 billion tons, the highest in history, with a 1.18% increase. We’re accelerating our pipeline, with 33% of auctions aimed at agribusiness, especially in the Northern Arc ports, which already account for 25% of exports. For container terminals, there will be four leases across various ports and one major private-use terminal (TUP) in Santos,” said Silvio Serafim Costa Filho, Minister of Ports and Airports (MPor).

The most anticipated project is Tecon Santos 10, the fourth and largest container terminal in the Port of Santos and South America, with a capacity of up to 3.5 million TEUs and R$ 5.64 billion in investments. The draft bidding notice has already gone through public consultation and hearings, and once the relevant feedback is incorporated, it will be submitted to the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU). “The plan is to publish the notice on September 10 and hold the auction on December 10. It will be the largest port auction in Brazil and will move the country from 46th to 15th place globally in container handling,” said Alex Ávila, National Secretary of Ports.

The revision of Law No. 12,815/2013 aims to unlock further investment. The main initiative is Bill No. 733/2025, resulting from a commission of legal experts. “The bill aligns more closely with the 1993 law (Law No. 8,630/1993), which modernized the sector by increasing flexibility in licensing and labor relations,” said Mário Povia, CEO of the Brazilian Infrastructure Institute (IBI).

In 2024, container handling grew by 20%, reaching 13.9 million TEUs, highlighting that port infrastructure is unprepared for a strong economic expansion, such as the 3.4% GDP growth. The shutdown of the Itajaí port and the closure of berths at Portonave in Navegantes (SC) and BTP in Santos (SP) contributed to capacity overload at various terminals.

A study by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) found that out of 5,663 container shipments scheduled in 2024, 3,219 were delayed, and 1,167 were canceled. Wagner Cardoso, CNI’s Infrastructure Superintendent, said that due to poor infrastructure and increased shipping company involvement in terminal operations, users have faced space shortages, skipped shipments, cargo rollovers, port call omissions, demurrage, and unfair charges.

Eduardo Heron Santos, Technical Director of the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé), explained that ship delays stem from terminal issues or external factors like drought in the Panama Canal and Houthi rebel attacks in Asia. Terminal yards fill up, forcing exporters to store cargo in retro areas. “In 2024, coffee exports rose 28% to 50.5 million bags, but 1.8 million bags in 5,300 containers were left behind, waiting for shipment. We paid R$ 51 million in extra storage fees alone,” lamented Santos.

Roberto Teller, Operations Director at Movecta, said dry port logistics operators, including Santos Brasil, which handles 15% of all containerized cargo, faced a surge in storage demand due to terminal overload.

“2024 was a challenging year along the continent’s east coast, with service interruptions. We grew 27%, invested R$ 700 million, expanding capacity to 2.3 million TEUs, but used it all, absorbing cargo from Itajaí, BTP, and Navegantes. We plan to invest another R$ 700 million this year to reach 2.6 million TEUs and have brought forward our target to hit 3 million TEUs by 2026,” said Antonio Carlos Sepúlveda, CEO of Santos Brasil.

According to CNI, Paranaguá (PR) topped the list of issues, with 538 delays, 133 omissions, and 46 shipment cancellations. “The port is impacted whenever schedules change,” explained Gabriel Vieira, Operations Director at the Port of Paranaguá.

Claudio Loureiro, Executive Director of Centronave, said there is no conflict between carriers and users, as both suffer from infrastructure deficiencies: lack of terminals and inadequate port depth for larger vessels. “Carriers lose 500,000 TEUs of potential cargo annually — around US$1 billion. For Brazil’s foreign trade, the losses amount to US$6.4 billion in exports and US$14.2 billion in imports,” warned Loureiro.

There’s no lack of investor appetite, particularly from shipping companies. APM Terminals, Maersk’s terminal arm, has invested in greenfield container terminals in Brazil — Suape (PE), Itapoá (SC), and BTP — and is not ruling out acquisitions. “We’re investing in capacity expansion, and the biggest opportunity is Tecon Santos 10. Without investment, Brazil misses the chance to attract up to 4 million more TEUs from the continent to its ports,” said Leonardo Levy, Investment Director for the Americas.

Patrício Jr., Investment Director at Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), MSC’s terminal arm, said the problems result from poor planning. “Tecon Santos 10 will solve today’s problems only in six years. We should already be thinking about the next terminal,” he said.

Anderson Pomini, CEO of the Santos Port Authority, emphasized that in addition to Tecon Santos 10 and expanded access (the Santos-Guarujá tunnel and two viaducts) with R$ 20 billion in investments, APS is also developing a new port zone, adding 13 million square meters. “Today, we have 7.8 million square meters. The new zone will be announced in April, totaling 20 million square meters. With 20% annual growth, Tecon Santos 10 and the new access routes are already arriving late.”

Source: Valor Econômico

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