Major Brazilian Exporters of Containerized Cargo: A Sector Overview

Container shipping is back in the spotlight. After two years of sharp swings in freight markets, major liner operators have again reported stronger earnings this year, supported by higher freight rates, resilient cargo demand and persistent disruptions in global supply chains. Maersk raised its full-year guidance after second-quarter profit beat expectations, while CMA CGM reported a 19.2% increase in second-quarter revenue, driven mainly by its shipping business, stronger volumes and improved freight rates.

Those results are not just a story about shipowners’ financial results. They show how much global trade still depends on regular container services, port capacity, equipment availability and the ability of exporters to place cargo on the right route at the right time. For Brazilian exporters, this matters because many of the country’s higher-value export flows — from animal protein and cotton to coffee, wood products, pulp, paper and industrial goods — depend on containerized logistics.

Brazil’s export profile is often defined by major commodities such as soybeans, iron ore, crude oil and sugar, which underpin the country’s trade balance and reinforce its position as a leading global supplier of food, raw materials and industrial inputs. Containerized exports, however, reveal a more specific layer of the economy: the companies that rely on liner shipping, the cargoes that require specialized logistics, the terminals where export flows are concentrated and the vessel services that connect Brazil with global supply chains.

The most useful view, therefore, is not only what Brazil sells abroad, but who ships the cargo, which products move in containers, which terminals handle those flows and how regular maritime services connect Brazil to Asia, Europe, North America, the Middle East and other South American markets.

According to Datamar data, Brazilian container exports reached 1,629,365 TEUs in the first half of 2026, up 5.9% year on year. For comparison, container exports totaled 3,249,402 TEUs in all of 2025. This shows the scale of the sector and explains why containerized trade has become an essential part of Brazil’s logistics and commercial strategy.

Chart 1 – Brazil Container Exports | 1H | 2023–2026 | TEUs

Source: Datamar (click here to request a demo)

Why containerized exports matter for Brazil

Containerized cargo occupies a strategic position in Brazil’s trade system because it serves products that often require frequency, predictability, cargo protection, refrigerated capacity, traceability, smaller lots or more complex commercial distribution. In Brazil’s case, this includes animal protein, cotton, pulp, wood products, coffee, paper, refined sugar, chemicals, manufactured goods and other cargoes that need access to predictable maritime services.

In practical terms, a containerized shipment is not only a trade transaction. It depends on available equipment, booking windows, terminal capacity, inland transportation, customs processing, port calls and vessel schedules. For exporters, competitiveness is shaped not only by production costs or exchange rates, but also by the reliability of container services and the ability to place cargo on the right ship, at the right port, at the right time.

This is where DataLiner becomes commercially relevant. Datamar’s platform gives users access to detailed and regularly updated data on South American maritime trade, allowing companies to analyze containerized exports by cargo owner, product, port, carrier, route, company and shipment record. Instead of relying only on aggregate trade statistics, users can track the movements that reveal where containerized cargo is growing, who is shipping it and which logistics networks are supporting that growth.

Key sectors in Brazilian containerized exports

In the first half of 2026, Datamar data show a strong presence of food, animal protein, pulp, paper, agribusiness and petrochemical companies among the leading Brazilian exporters of containerized cargo.

The five largest individual volumes recorded during the period were 84,875 TEUs, 65,182 TEUs, 54,903 TEUs, 51,301 TEUs and 33,205 TEUs. Together, those five exporters moved 289,466 TEUs in the first half of the year.

The composition of the ranking highlights the importance of refrigerated animal protein exports, especially poultry, pork and beef, as well as the weight of pulp, paper and forest products. The presence of companies linked to agribusiness, the chemical industry and trading activity broadens that diversity and shows the reach of Brazil’s containerized export base.

Chart 2 – Volumes moved by Brazil’s ten leading exporters | 1H2026 | TEUs

Source: Datamar (click here to request a demo)

What cargo do Brazilian container ships carry?

The composition of Brazil’s containerized exports helps explain why the ranking is led by food, forest-products and agribusiness companies. In the first half of 2026, poultry meat was the leading containerized export cargo in Datamar’s data, with 198,449 TEUs, up 13.3% year on year and representing 12.18% of the market. Cotton, not carded or combed, ranked second, with 141,169 TEUs, up 29.5%, followed by frozen bovine meat with 95,093 TEUs, chemical wood pulp with 77,007 TEUs and sawn or chipped wood with 62,908 TEUs.

The top ten also included coffee beans, plywood and laminated wood, pork meat, cane or beet sugar and uncoated paper and paperboard. The mix reinforces the strategic role of containerized trade in connecting Brazil’s food, fiber, forestry and industrial supply chains to international buyers.

Growth patterns also matter. Cotton posted the strongest increase among the listed top cargoes, and the port-level data show how concentrated that expansion was. Datamar data indicate that containerized cotton exports reached 142,079 TEUs in 1H2026, up 29.6% year on year, with Santos accounting for 132,040 TEUs, or 92.93% of the total. The port added 31,777 TEUs from 1H2025, making it the main driver of cotton’s growth in containers. Salvador and Itapoá also expanded, reaching 5,422 TEUs and 2,979 TEUs, respectively, but the figures point above all to Santos’ central role as Brazil’s dominant containerized cotton export gateway.

Table 1 – Top Containerized Export Cargoes | 1H2026 | TEUs

Source: Datamar (click here to request a demo)

Ports, terminals and liner networks

Containerized exports depend on terminals connected to regular liner services, reefer availability, inland cargo hubs and global transshipment networks. This makes terminal concentration one of the most important indicators for understanding Brazil’s container export system.

In the first half of 2026, the leading container export terminals in Datamar’s ranking were BTP, with 310,563 TEUs and 19.06% market share; TCP, with 309,632 TEUs and 19.00% market share; Santos Brasil, with 220,166 TEUs and 13.51% market share; DP World Santos, with 162,358 TEUs and 9.96% market share; and Itapoá, with 157,642 TEUs and 9.68% market share.

Together, those five terminals accounted for more than 70% of the container export volume listed in the Datamar ranking. That concentration creates advantages and risks. On one hand, it reflects access to frequent sailings, larger terminal infrastructure and established commercial corridors. On the other, it can increase exposure to congestion, schedule disruptions, equipment imbalances or changes in carrier rotations.

Official port data also underline the role of Santos in Brazil’s containerized trade. Among ports in Brazil, Santos remains the country’s main container gateway. Brazil’s Ministry of Ports and Airports described Santos as the largest port in Latin America and reported that the port handled 92.8 million metric tons in the first half of 2026, including 16.71 million metric tons of exported containerized cargo.

Chart 3 – Top Container Export Terminals | 1H2026 | TEUs

Source: Datamar (click here to request a demo)

How regular container services shape Brazil’s export capacity

Terminal rankings show where cargo is concentrated, but they do not fully explain how export capacity is created. Container exports also depend on liner shipping networks — regular services operated by carriers on predefined rotations. Unlike bulk shipping, where vessels are often chartered for specific cargo movements, container shipping relies on recurring port calls, equipment planning and scheduled connections between ports.

For exporters, those regular services create predictability. They allow companies to plan production, trucking, cold-chain capacity, documentation and delivery windows around expected vessel departures. At the same time, they create exposure to network decisions made by carriers. A change in rotation, the removal of a port call, a new transshipment option or a shift in weekly capacity can affect exporters, terminals, freight forwarders and buyers abroad.

Several current services illustrate how Brazil is connected to global liner networks. Maersk’s NEOSAMBA service links Europe and the East Coast of Latin America and was updated in 2026 with the addition of Itapoá, alongside calls including Santos and Paranaguá. CMA CGM’s SAFRAN service links North Europe and the East Coast of South America, with a 2026 rotation including Santos, Paranaguá, Montevideo, Buenos Aires and Itapoá. MSC says its Brazil operation runs 12 weekly services across 16 ports of call, connecting the country to 300 global routes.

For cargo owners, these services are more than transport options. They are commercial channels. The availability of port calls, transit times, equipment and containerized cargo ships influences which markets are viable, how reliably refrigerated cargo can move and how competitive container export prices become.

For exporters, this operational layer matters because container export prices are shaped by more than spot freight rates. Equipment availability, reefer demand, port congestion, carrier capacity, transit times and the number of regular vessel calls can all affect the cost and reliability of a shipment. That is why cargo-owner data, terminal rankings and vessel-lineup intelligence are most useful when analyzed together: they help companies understand not only where cargo is moving, but also where logistics pressure may affect service options and freight negotiations.

DataLiner brings that intelligence into a single analytical environment. With more than 200 regularly updated data fields, Datamar allows users to build customized views of Brazil’s containerized trade, including rankings, market share analyses, historical trends, routes, ports, carriers, companies and individual shipment records. That level of granularity helps companies compare flows, monitor competitors, evaluate port exposure and identify opportunities before they appear in broader market indicators.

What the data says about Brazil’s containerized export economy

Brazil’s container export market is not defined by a single industry. It brings together protein companies, pulp and paper producers, wood exporters, cotton suppliers, coffee shippers, petrochemical players and agribusiness traders. That diversity is one of the reasons why the sector matters more than shipping companies alone.

For exporters, containerized trade offers access to regular maritime networks and more flexible commercial distribution. For terminals and carriers, it creates demand for port capacity, equipment planning and service reliability. For freight forwarders and logistics providers, it reveals where new opportunities are emerging. For importers abroad, it helps identify suppliers with regular shipment histories and established logistics channels.

The leading Brazilian exporters in containers are therefore not only large companies. They are companies embedded in complex logistics networks that depend on port performance, vessel schedules, equipment availability and route intelligence.

Better data for better trade decisions

In a market shaped by freight volatility, geopolitical disruption, changing tariff risks and shifting demand, companies cannot rely only on annual trade totals or broad commodity rankings. They need to know which cargoes are moving, which exporters are gaining scale, which terminals concentrate the flow, and which vessel services support each corridor.

Datamar helps companies turn those movements into actionable information. With DataLiner, users can analyze cargo-owner data, terminal rankings, commodity flows, carrier performance, market share, routes and shipment records to identify market leaders, monitor cargo shifts, evaluate port exposure, track competitor activity and understand how Brazil’s containerized cargo connects to global trade.

Learn more about DataLiner here.

FAQ: Brazilian exporters and containerized cargo

What is Brazil’s largest export commodity?

Brazil’s largest export commodity depends on the period and methodology used. In Brazil’s overall export basket, soybeans, crude oil and iron ore are usually among the leading products by value. In the containerized segment, however, Datamar’s 1H2026 data show poultry meat, cotton, frozen bovine meat, chemical wood pulp and wood products among the leading cargoes by TEU.

What cargo do ships from Brazil carry?

Ships calling Brazilian ports carry many types of cargo, including grains, iron ore, oil, fuels, fertilizers, vehicles, breakbulk cargo and containers. In containerized exports, Brazil ships products such as poultry, beef, pork, cotton, pulp, wood products, coffee, paper, sugar, chemicals and manufactured or semi-manufactured goods.

What is the largest container port in Brazil?

Santos is Brazil’s main container gateway and the country’s largest port. Brazil’s Ministry of Ports and Airports described Santos as the largest port in Latin America and reported that it handled 92.8 million metric tons in the first half of 2026, including 16.71 million metric tons of exported containerized cargo.

What is Brazil’s biggest exporter?

The answer depends on whether the question refers to total export value, tonnage, a specific commodity or containerized cargo. In Datamar’s 1H2026 containerized export ranking by real cargo owner, Seara Alimentos led with 84,875 TEUs, followed by BRF, JBS, Klabin and Suzano.

Who is Brazil’s #1 trading partner?

China is Brazil’s leading trading partner. In July 2026, official trade data showed China as Brazil’s top export destination, with shipments totaling US$10.67 billion in the month.