Reefer cargo handling surges, surpassing the 70,000-container mark for the first time
TCP, the company that manages the Paranaguá Container Terminal, handled the equivalent of 835,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first half of 2026. This is a record volume for the period, surpassing by 4% the 803,000 TEUs registered in 2025. The result was driven by growth in exports and imports of full containers. Shipments grew by 10%, rising from 3.816 million tons to 4.180 million tons, while landings also saw a 9% increase, going from 1.503 million tons to 1.635 million tons.
The commercial segments with the best performance in shipments were meat and frozen products, with 2.031 million tons exported (a 16% increase), and paper and cellulose, which grew by 9%. In imports, the automotive segment accounted for 292,000 tons landed, 8% above the previous year’s volume, while consumer goods reached 106,000 tons, a 10% advancement.
“With advancements in infrastructure, customized services, specialized customer care, and the largest maritime services portfolio in the country, the Terminal closes the first half of the year with the best performance in its history. This is the result of increased shipping and landing volumes from consolidated clients, as well as the conversion of new clients,” explains Fabio Mattos, commercial manager at TCP.
The Terminal has the highest number of maritime services among Brazilian terminals, with 22 regular weekly lines, including cabotage and deep-sea shipping, connecting Paranaguá to the Brazilian coast and ports in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. In the first half of the year, 514 ships berthed at TCP’s quay.
At the road access gates, TCP registered the passage of 332,000 containers in the first half, a volume 8% higher than the 297,000 units handled in the first half of 2025.
The Terminal is also the only one in the Southern Region of Brazil to feature a direct connection between the customs area and a railway line. From January to June, TCP received 661 trains and 53,000 full containers for export. This volume is expected to increase by approximately 20% with the completion this July of the expansion work on the maneuvering area inside the operations yard, which received an additional 757 meters of railway track.
“The railway connects Paranaguá to the Western and Northern regions of the state of Paraná and is a strategic solution that primarily serves paper, cellulose, and poultry exporters. The completion of the work will strengthen handling capacity and should boost the use of this transport mode in the logistics chain of the Terminal’s clients,” comments Mattos.
Reefer cargo grows driven by poultry meat
Refrigerated container (reefer) handling reached a new historical record for the first half of the year. There were 76,000 containers, a volume 10% higher than the 69,000 units in the same period of 2025. The performance was stimulated by poultry shipments.
According to the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA), Brazil achieved its best historical result for poultry exports, which reached 2.936 million tons, a 12.9% increase in volume, and $5.7 billion in revenue, a figure 17% higher than that of the first half of 2025.
At TCP, poultry shipments soared 18%, above the national average, increasing from 1.115 million tons to 1.314 million tons. Consequently, the Terminal expanded its market share in poultry exports from 45% to 47%. The main destinations were China (10%), South Africa (9%), and the United Arab Emirates (8%).
“2025 was a challenging year for poultry producers due to restrictions on product shipments following the identification of an avian influenza outbreak in the country. With the resolution of the case, export volumes surged starting in December, and in 2026, TCP reached a 47% market share in national shipments of the product,” comments Mattos.
Regarding beef exports, the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association (ABIEC) reported that Brazil shipped 1.705 million tons in the first half, a 15.5% increase, while revenue grew 36.2%, reaching the $9.85 billion mark.
In this segment, TCP achieved a stable performance, shipping 364,000 tons of the product, resulting in a 23% market share in exports. The main destinations were China (48%), the United States (12%), and Russia (7%).
Mattos highlights that “TCP holds the largest yard for refrigerated container storage in Brazil, with 5,280 outlets, and this August, it is completing the installation of an additional 220 outlets, reaching a total of 5,500 plugs. New investments are already planned, and the Terminal is expected to have over 6,000 outlets by the end of 2027, expanding Paranaguá’s prominence as the country’s largest export corridor for meat and frozen products.”
