October container movement record for APM Terminals Pecém

The Port of Pecém set a new record for container movement in a single month. The port plans for further success as it continues to attract more vessels – not only for its enviably strategic location but also for its best-in-class efficiency.

Located 55 km from Ceará’s state capital of Fortaleza in North-eastern Brazil, the terminal operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Public and private investments are being used to transform Pecém – the closest Brazilian terminal to both the US and Europe – into the main hub for North and Northeast Brazil.

Multiple port handling

In its recent unprecedented operation, cargo unloaded at the Ceará port, Brazil, was destined for 14 other ports – across both national and international lines, as well as hinterland road routes.

With 120 professionals per shift involved in the operation, APM Terminals Pecém deployed three RTG (rubber-tired gantry) cranes and three 89 meter tall STS (ship-to-shore) cranes, each capable of 30 moves per hour.

Best month yet

October was "the best month in history," according to Daniel Rose, Managing Director of APM Terminals Pecém. In total, 66,253 TEUs were transported between October 1 and October 31, representing a 16.42% increase over the previous record of 56,906 TEUs in one month, set in December 2023.

The October record was achieved just one month after setting the daily record with the loading and unloading of the MSC MariaGrazia in which 4,016 containers were moved within 52 hours and 37 minutes between September 27-29. "Here in Pecém, we have grown significantly over the past five years, with an annual growth rate of almost 10%," said Rose, "[we are] almost twice as big as in 2016, when we purchased our first large-scale cranes."

Larger share of long-haul routes

In an interview with local press, Rose said that while the terminal initially focused on cabotage – the transport of goods between two places in the same country – long-haul routes connecting Ceará to other countries are starting to account for a larger share of operations.