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Cargo transport by ships can quintuple in Brazil

Written by Renato Oliveira
Published 09/07/2019 às 01:00

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cabotage
research points to the potential of cabotage

Cabotage, according to a study carried out by the Ilos institute, has the potential to grow five times if it absorbs cargo transport carried out by road across the country

The Ilos Institute, a reference in Brazil in planning, structuring and implementing activities related to logistics and the Supply Chain, released a study that indicates that the cabotage market (navigation between ports in the same country) can grow by five times the volume of transported loads if it absorbed the volumes transported by road transport.

According to the study, around 22 million tons of cargo transported by road could be delivered by ship, promoting a very outdated modal around here, cabotage.
If cabotage absorbed the loads that are transported by road, it would be responsible for 44,2 million tons per year.

The Institute concludes the study by stating that an agenda is also needed for the sector to grow in a structured way. Currently, our transport modal matrix is ​​quite unbalanced, with more than half of the cargo exchanged by the states being transported by road, as shown below:

  • 61% of loads travel by road;
  • 22% of loads carry out their operations through railroads;
  • 11% of cargo is delivered using cabotage.

How it is in developed countries

In Japan, for example, the cargo transport matrix is ​​much more balanced, the road modal also accounts for a large share, with 50%, but cabotage has a prominent role and comes very close, delivering 44% of the volume to recipients.

The executive partner of Instituto Ilos, Maria Fernanda Hijja, responsible for the study, explained how the study was carried out, “To find the potential of cabotage, we identified the volume of cargo that was on the highways, moved over 1.500 kilometers , which were close to the coast. This is what has the potential to be taken away.”

The director also explained that a market survey was carried out with representatives of cargo companies. “There, we saw that 21% of large Brazilian industries, those that move the largest volume of cargo, intend to change modes, leave the road and opt for cabotage. We corroborated that there is cargo and that companies want to change”.

most used ports

The Port of Santos is the most used for cabotage operations in the country, representing a total of 21,6% of cargo. In second place is the port of Suape (PE) with 14,3% and in third place is the port of Manaus (AM) with 13,5% of goods.
In addition to them, the port of Pecém (CE) concentrates 11,6% of goods and the most used routes involve the Port of Santos and Manaus.

The director of the institute ended by stating that cabotage has only one disadvantage compared to other modes, but it has other enormous advantages.
“The cost of cabotage is cheaper for a series of routes, it emits less polluting gases and, for some companies, this is a decision factor. There is less risk of cargo theft, but it also has the disadvantage of being slower than road transport”.

See too ! Brazil will invest BRL 1,5 trillion in oil and gas by 2027

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Renato Oliveira

Production Engineer with a postgraduate degree in Manufacturing and assembly of pipelines with 30 years of experience in inspection/manufacturing/assembly of pipelines/tests/Planning and PCP and commissioning in shipbuilding/offshore (conversion of FPSO's hulls and topsides modules) in the largest national shipyards and 2 years in a Japanese shipyard (Kawasaki) inspecting and accompanying fabrication and assembly techniques of structures/pipes/outfittings (advanced finishing) for hull from Drillships.

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