APM Terminals Itajaí to double monthly volume
Three new services will begin calling APM Terminals Itajaí in February, catering to Brazil’s refrigerated cargo exports from Santa Catarina State, the company said in its press release. Chicken and pork will be the main export on these services, followed by non-refrigerated shipments of timber and other wood products. Approxmately 75% of the facilty’s reefer cargoes are chicken, with pork representing another 20%. Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of chicken, with 4.5 million metric tons exported last year. The Itajaí Port Complex handled more than 189,000 TEUs of reefer cargo in 2017, including 145,000 TEUs of fresh and frozen chicken.
On February 4th APM Terminals Itajaí welcomed the Jacarandá Login, making the first call of a joint Login and Mercosul twice-weekly string serving South America’s east coast, with calls at Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, and using Itajaí as a transshipment hub.
French-based CMA-CGM’s Brazil Express (Brazex) service linking Brazil to the US Gulf Coast, and South America-West Africa (SamWaf) service to Congo, Angola and South Africa also began service in February. The SamWaf service is operated jointly with NileDutch, Safmarine, Maersk Line, Hapag Lloyd and Hamburg Süd. These three services bring the total regular services calling APM Terminals Itajaí to seven.
“These are very important achievements for us, demonstrating that the consistent standards of productivity and flexibility that APM Terminals Itajaí offers to shipping lines, combined with a strong focus on importing and exporting customers, are highly valued by the market” noted APM Terminals’ Head of Brazil Ricardo Arten. APM Terminals Itajaí handled 215,000 TEUs in 2017.
