In July, Wilson Sons saw 44% growth in the Rio Grande container terminal compared to the same period in 2022, totalling 49,100 TEUs (twenty feet equivalent units). Exports rose 83%, with more ship calls and greater volumes of tobacco, resins, and other products. Imports increased 38% due to the higher reliability of ship schedules and larger volumes of chemicals and resins. By overcoming the 2022 bottlenecks caused by the pandemic in global shipping operations, exporters are now benefiting from lower freight costs and regular services, leading to an increase in volumes. The development of agriculture in Brazil is also beneficial for facilities such as the Rio Grande container terminal.

Transshipment and shifting increased 38% in July at the Rio Grande container terminal, especially due to an increase in cargo transshipment to and from the US East Coast and South America West Coast. Inland navigation rose by 32%, with larger volumes of resins.

“The growth in our operations is largely driven by the increase in exports, imports and inland navigation. One of the main reasons is the significant recovery of the Rio Grande do Sul cargo market share. The gradual recovery of ship call reliability also led to a decline in cancellations and lighter traffic in foreign ports. In July, cancellations fell by 82% and, in the year, by 76%. Additionally, we have higher empty container repositioning levels, which allows us to containerize tobacco, wood, rice, and other goods”, said Rodrigo Velho, commercial director at Rio Grande container terminal.

Of the goods exported, Rodrigo Velho mentions tobacco, which, in July, posted an increase of 153%, and 20% in the year. Other expressive results in July are those of rice, with a growth of 168% (66% in the year); pork meat, with 140% (62% in the year); wood, with 95% (63% in the year); resins, with 86% (26% in the year); and furniture, with 44% (8% in the year). “This scenario of increasing levels of ship calls leads to a greater number of transshipments. This year, there have been 57 more ship calls than in the same period of 2022. The new shipping line to Northern Europe also helped to leverage this performance, leading to greater capacity and shorter transit times in Rio Grande do Sul”, he concluded.

In July, total container operations in the Rio Grande container terminal and Salvador container terminal were 22% greater than the same period of 2022. Wilson Sons handled 83,300 TEUs, against 68,200 TEUs in July last year.

The Salvador container terminal handled 34,300 TEUs in July, up 0.5% compared to July 2022, with exports growing 6% (increasing volumes of fruit and iron ore). At the Salvador container terminal, transshipment and shifting increased by 48%, mainly due to the increasing levels of transshipment from Saudi Arabia, Morocco and the port of Vitória, as well as exports to China, Argentina and the port of Itapoá (in the state of Santa Catarina).

Of the total volumes handled last month, 63,100 were full units, up 27% against the same period in 2022, while empty containers totalled 20,200 TEUs, up 9% on the same basis of comparison.

In the first seven months of the year, the company's operating results are also robust. The Rio Grande container terminal and the Salvador container terminal handled 573,800 TEUs, up 9% compared to the aggregate volumes reported in the two terminals from January to July 2022.

Another highlight of last month's operating results was the tugboat division of Wilson Sons. Last month, 5,035 port manoeuvres were carried out, up 10% compared to July 2022. Manoeuvres increased mainly due to the higher number of ships carrying containerised cargo, iron ore, grains and oil.