Milestone was reached after a record-breaking month of July
This Monday, August 3, TCP, the company that manages the Paranaguá Container Terminal, reached the milestone of 1 million TEUs (the standard measurement for a 20-foot container) handled throughout the year. The feat was achieved 10 days earlier than in 2025 and reflects the advancement of operations, which grew by 4% compared to the previous year.
The one-millionth container was handled during the operation of the vessel VALOR, owned by the shipping line MSC, which measures 300 meters in length (LOA) and 48 meters in width (beam), and operates the route connecting Brazil to Europe.
“This result is a clear indicator of TCP’s commitment to offering efficiency and operational capacity to absorb the increased market demand for cargo handling. Investments in infrastructure and machinery, combined with professional excellence and employee dedication, were fundamental to achieving this milestone ahead of schedule. The Terminal continues on this trajectory to close 2026 with the best result in its historical series,” comments Fabio Mattos, commercial manager at TCP.
The record of 1 million TEUs occurs right after the closing of July, when TCP handled 147.9 thousand TEUs, the best performance for a single month in 2026 and a volume 5% higher than the 140.9 thousand TEUs handled in July 2025.
One of the highlights of the operations was the increase in the handling of refrigerated (reefer) containers, mainly used to transport meat and frozen goods, which grew by 10% in the comparison between January and July, rising from 80.3 thousand in 2025 to 88.4 thousand in 2026.
By the end of July, TCP registered the passage of 379 thousand containers through the road access gates and 62 thousand containers via the rail mode, with the operation of 774 trains. The Paranaguá Container Terminal is the only one in Southern Brazil to have a direct connection between a railway branch and the operations yard.
At the pier, the Terminal received the berthing of 597 ships. TCP is the largest concentrator of maritime services among the country’s port terminals, with 22 regular weekly lines, including cabotage and long-haul lines, connecting Paranaguá to the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Trade balance is driven by meat and the automotive segment
In the seven months of 2026, TCP shipped 4.913 million tons of cargo, a performance 10% above the 4.465 million tons recorded in the same period of the previous year.
The result was driven by exports of meat and frozen products, which surged from 2.047 million tons to 2.344 million tons, a volume boosted by the advance in chicken and pork shipments.
“TCP holds a strategic advantage for meat and frozen food exporters, who require operational capacity for cargo storage and a high volume of port calls to ship their products and meet the strict deadlines of importing markets. For this reason, the Terminal continues to invest in expanding its infrastructure for refrigerated container storage, which is expected to increase from 5,280 plugs to 5,500 still in 2026,” highlights Mattos.
The paper and cellulose segment also advanced 9% and reached 623 thousand tons this year, while in 2025 the volume was 569 thousand tons.
In imports, the leadership went to the automotive segment, with the heating up of the electric vehicle market and the unloading of parts and components, which totaled 346 thousand tons in 2026, a volume 8% higher than the 319 thousand tons of the previous year.
Ships operate with maximum draft in Paranaguá
Last Friday, July 31, TCP received the berthing of the container ship MSC Iris. Measuring 366 meters in length (LOA), 51 meters in width (beam), and with a capacity to transport approximately 16,000 TEUs, this was the first 366-meter ship to utilize the maximum draft (the depth between the lowest part of the ship and the waterline) of 13.30 meters at the Port of Paranaguá.
“Since November 2025, the operational draft of the Port of Paranaguá began operating at 13.30 meters, and more than 30 ships have already used the maximum permitted depth, which translates into greater operational capacity to load and unload cargo. The result is more competitiveness for shipowners, exporters, and importers who use the Terminal, with the potential for reducing logistical costs and greater safety in supply chain planning,” explains Mattos.
The 366-meter-long ships are the largest to operate in Brazilian ports, and TCP was the first port terminal in Brazil to receive a vessel of this category when, on January 29, 2024, it welcomed the container ship MSC Natasha XIII.
