Their result for this month was 12,891 containers, the second best in their history, behind only March 2021, when they handled 13,129 containers.

Porto Itapoá has its best month for imports in 2023

Porto Itapoá achieved an important milestone in September 2023, with its highest volume of imports for the year. Their result for this month was 12,891 containers, the second best in their history, behind only March 2021, when they handled 13,129 containers.

This figure was driven, in particular, by the supply chains for machinery and its components (corresponding to 30% of the total), metallurgy and steel (24% of the total), plastic and plastic products (23%) and chemical products (23%), according to Cássio Schreiner, the President of Porto Itapoá. “The end of the year is usually a strong period for imports, especially due to the end of year festivities and the industry’s preparations for the year to come”, he explained.

China continues to be the main source of imported products. 83% of the imports that passed through Porto Itapoá in September came from there. “We currently have the shortest import transit time from Asia among the cluster of ports in the south of Brazil”, explained Schreiner. “This is important for importers, as they can have greater certainty about their operations and production deadlines.” Chile was second, the source for 10% of the total, and India third, with 7%.

The month of September was also notable for export crossdocking operations – a format in which exporters send loose cargo on trucks to be packed into containers inside the Terminal. “It is already the best year in our history. We have handled 2218 containers, which surpasses what we handled for the whole of 2022, when we handled 2047 containers”, he noted.

The most important supply chains for this type of operation were paper and wood pulp, responsible for 64% of the total, and plastic and plastic products, with 36%. “Crossdocking is a way to make life easier for the customer. They do not need to worry about returning the container to the shipping company and they avoid transport costs and any potential penalties for late returns, known as demurrage”, he explained.

The main destinations were China, around 60% of the total, Singapore, around 24%, and Spain, 18% of the total.

The best Customer Experience in Brazil.

Porto Itapoá is the best port in Brazil for the customer experience The Iberian-Brazilian Institute for Customer Relations (IBRC) gave the Terminal an award on September 14th, at a ceremony held in São Paulo. Every year, the IBRC assesses the performance of various companies in terms of customer relations.

As well as this prize, Porto Itapoá had the best customer satisfaction index in Brazil (SSI – Sales Satisfaction Index) and, for the sixth consecutive year, the highest NPS (Net Promoter Score), which assesses how willing the Terminal’s customers are to recommend its services to others.

Records

Porto Itapoá started the second half of 2023 by breaking its monthly handling record, with 99,396 TEUs (20-foot containers). This total is around 10% higher than the 89,880 TEUs handled by the Terminal in July 2022. They have also broken this record twice already this year, in March and May, making this a very positive half year, with 18% growth compared to the same period last year.

New Service to Europe

Porto Itapoá now has another major service to offer its customers. LUX was launched by ONE (Ocean Network Express) and Cosco Shipping in July 2023. This service has weekly stopovers and connects Europe and the Mediterranean to the east coast of South America.