APM Terminals Pecém records 16% growth in the first half of 2024

The company responsible for handling all containers passing through the Port of Pecém, located on the west coast of Ceará, closed the first six months of the year with a movement of 235,148 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) – a 16.6% increase compared to the same period in 2023, when 201,704 TEUs were moved. The increase in container traffic during the first half of 2024 can be attributed to an 11.2% rise in containerized imports and a 22.6% increase in the volume of exported containers during this period. This means more refrigerated, dry, and empty containers were handled by APM Terminals Pecém in the first half of the year.

"We have grown in both container handling services, both in cabotage and longdistance navigation. The loading and unloading of dry and refrigerated cargo increased, but I would also highlight the growth in the handling of empty containers. This is another key area of our terminal in Pecém, which is the strategic management of empty containers – an extremely important service for Brazilian port logistics," emphasizes Marcelo Gurgel, Commercial Manager of APM Terminals Pecém.

Empty containers are essential, for example, for the fresh fruit export service. They arrive at the terminal without cargo to be filled with fruits harvested in northeastern Brazil, mainly destined for European countries. APM Terminals Pecém recorded a 5.0% growth in imports and a 52.2% growth in the export of empty containers in the first half of 2024. The increase in empty container movement is facilitated by the presence of APM Terminals Pecém Depot – a unit near the terminal, with infrastructure capable of storing up to 10,000 TEUs, thereby contributing to the so-called reverse logistics of containers.

Cabotage

• 129,127 TEUs handled in the 1st half of 2024
• +1.6% compared to the 1st half of 2023

Long-Distance Navigation

• 106,021 TEUs handled in the 1st half of 2024
• +42.1% compared to the 1st half of 2023

Total Movement (Cabotage + Long-Distance Navigation + Empty Containers)

• 235,148 TEUs handled in the 1st half of 2024
• +16.6% compared to the 1st half of 2023

The accumulated results for the first half of the year indicate a continuation of the growth achieved in 2023 – a year in which APM Terminals achieved its best performance at the Port of Pecém, handling 482,044 TEUs, a 15% increase compared to 2022, when 418,226 TEUs were moved.