Investments in technology, systems upgrade and structure enlargement allowed the increase of productivity.
In March, TCP (the company that manages the Paranaguá Container Terminal) achieved two productivity records. One of them is the number of gate transaction. During the month, 42.322 containers accessed the terminal, 1.028 more than the previous record achieved in August 2019.
One of the factors for the growth in the total number of transactions was the improvement in the scheduling system, which streamlined the service process. Another change was the implementation of the TCP GO app, which brought greater convenience to drivers and carriers.
The app is an online alternative to the printed appointment form: using the cell phone, the trucker shows the QR Code and accesses the gate. TCP GO also allows the driver to keep track of date changes and receive updated notifications about the terminal and the road traffic condition.
According to TCP’s operations manager, Felipe de França, this record was a historic moment for the company. “Market demand increased, and, at the time, we had two lanes closed due to the construction of gate infrastructure upgrading and modernization. Thanks to the improvement of the system and heavy investments in technology, we were able to overcome the demand and beat this record. We are still working on the gates to expand our service”.
The market growth, mentioned by França, expanded the entry of containers, allowing TCP to reach a second record: growth of reefers volume. The volume registered was 21.356 TEUs (20-foot-container length), a number reached one month after the last record in the sector (20.810 TEUs). Almost 100% of the reefers used in the terminal are for the transportation of frozen protein, mostly chicken (82%) and beef (12%). According to the Dataliner data system, among the leading export states are Mato Grosso with beef, followed by Paraná, with frozen chicken.
According to TCP’s Commercial and Customer Service Manager, Giovanni Guidolim, “due to the current reefer structure of the terminal, which has a high number of plugs, we are able to offer the market flexibility in the anticipated entry of cargo. This favors the receipt of exporter demands and meets the needs of the agricultural sector. The result of this work is TCP being the world leader in handling frozen chicken meat for export”.
To stay in the lead, by the end of 2023 the reefer yard will undergo a 43% increase. Guidolim comments that “from the current 3.572 plugs we will go to 5.126, which keeps us in the lead as the largest reefer area among Brazilian terminals. To guarantee excellence in the new plugs, we built our own power substation and acquired 11 new RTG cranes, which will be delivered by the end of the year”.
The railway modal is also another advantageous logistic differential for the protein market, being TCP the only terminal in the southern region with direct access to a bonded area. “The railroad is responsible for transporting one in every five export containers to TCP and meets several demands, including 25% of frozen meat exports”, explains Guidolim.
