Jump the queue
With six overall berthing facilities, Itajaí can guarantee vessels a berthing window even if they're delayed
Itajai is positioning itself as an alternative to more congested Brazilian ports, as Bob Moser finds out
The Port of Itajaí has ranked as Brazil's no. 2 for container traffic nearly every year since 2005, despite facing major flooding emergencies twice in that span. With a firm grasp on local commodities and expansion in the works, management is now eyeing Itajaí's first railway connection, and promoting its turnaround speed to new clients dissatisfied with more congested ports.
Itajaí closed August with a turnover of 91,750 teu, a 14% growth rate compared with the same month a year ago and the second best month all-time for the port. Itajaí hit a record 957,000-plus teu in 2010, and management expects the port to pass 1m by the end of this year.
Land access is a common challenge for most ports, but Brazil's chaotic and severely dilapadated highways inflame growth limitations for ports like Itajaí, which doesn't have a rail line connection. Two railroad research projects currently underway could offer "fantastic development" for Itajaí if implemented, says Robert Grantham, commercial director.
A new federal railway being studied would run from the Port of Itajaí through western Santa Catarina – the heart of the state's agro-industrial region – and on into Argentina. Another public railway being studied, and currently open to bids from developers, would link all three ports along the state's coast. With two major highways already branching out from Itajaí, "we'd make a fantastic hub here," Mr Grantham says.
Santa Catarina is Brazil's top state for poultry and pork production. An insatiable export demand for those products has made Itajaí Brazil's top port for frozen poultry exports, and no. 2 for pork. They make up half of Itajaí's exports, and the resale value of those meats is attracting shipping lines along the Brazilian coast to stop in Itajaí over other ports.
"Ships are coming in full and going out full, it's a good balance," Mr Grantham says. "Six to eight years ago, our imports represented no more than 20% of our total movement. But with devaluation of the US dollar, we've seen imports grow considerably, now up to 45% of our total movement."
What's being unloaded at Itajaí isn't fair-weather stock or goods that ebb and flow with seasonal demand. It's mainly machinery for Santa Catarina's agroindustry, a consistent class of imports.
Mr Grantham wants to see Itajaí now grab a larger share of beef exports. Brazil is the world's top producer and exporter of beef, and while most of it moves through the nation's busiest port in Santos, congestion there offers an opportunity to lure producers and shippers south.
A main selling point used to separate Itajaí from other ports is its two container terminals on the river, and six overall berthing facilities. When compared with three berthing spaces at the Port of Rio Grande, or two at Paranagua, Itajaí can guarantee vessels a berthing window even if they're delayed, with terminal gates opening as much as seven days in advance of arrival.
"This has helped Itajaí boast a splendid record of non-cancellation, compared to other ports in Brazil that are full," Mr Grantham says.
The port faces some natural constraints that have always been its biggest challenge. It's located on what can be a powerful Itajaí-Açu River and about 3.2 km from a waterfall, which can close the port at times when the current is too strong from heavy rains.
Itajaí was hit by flooding in early September that shut down operations for seven days. Dredging planned to take the port from 11 to 14 metres is on track to finish by year's end, and the dredger, already in port when the storm hit, should aid in the overall storm recovery.
One of Itajaí's other goals for 2012 and beyond is widening the mouth of the river and providing ample space for larger ships to turn once inside. The port's current turning circle is 400 metres wide, but on both sides of the circle are wharfs that take up valuable space.
Port management is studying construction costs for a new 450 metre-wide turning circle to accomodate larger ships.
“The post-Panamax ships are arriving, container ships on Brazil's coast are growing and we're definitely a container port now,” Mr Grantham says. “This is the market of the future, and that's what we have to focus on.”
