Latin America has consolidated its position as one of the most strategic markets for international container shipping. According to a survey by consultancy Alphaliner, the region received 349.3 thousand additional TEUs of maritime capacity between May 2025 and May 2026, registering the world's third largest expansion in the period.
The growth occurs amid the expansion of the global container fleet, which advanced 5.7% over the past 12 months and reached 33.9 million TEUs. In total, 1.84 million TEUs were added to worldwide capacity, reflecting shipowners' confidence in markets considered most promising for expanding commercial flows.
Although the largest share of investments was directed to the Far East-Europe route, which received 667.4 thousand additional TEUs, Latin America stood out with a 7.8% expansion in containerized cargo capacity.
North-South routes gain prominence
The study shows a gradual shift in shipping companies' strategy. While some traditional routes between major economic centers show limited growth, North-South flows have been gaining importance within the global reorganization of shipping.
For shipowners, emerging markets offer greater growth potential given expanding consumption, agribusiness and industrialization. In this context, Latin America appears as one of the most attractive regions for new services and capacity expansion.
Brazil drives demand
The advance in cargo capacity goes hand-in-hand with the evolution of Brazilian foreign trade. The Port of Santos, Latin America's leading port complex, handled over 1.4 million TEUs in the first quarter of 2026, posting the best performance in history for the period.
In March alone, approximately 485 thousand TEUs were handled, a result driven by growth in exports and imports, especially in flows with Asia, Brazil's main trading partner.
Beyond agricultural and mineral commodities, the increase in imports of machinery, equipment and industrial components has also helped sustain demand for regular maritime transport.
Growth exposes logistics bottlenecks
While capacity expansion represents an opportunity for foreign trade, it also highlights historic structural challenges facing Brazilian ports.
Port operators, shipowners and experts have been warning of the need to increase investments in terminals, land access and back-of-port areas. At the Port of Santos, for example, various segments of the industry assess that terminal occupancy is already approaching the limits considered ideal for absorbing the growth projected for the coming years.
Concerns grow as increasingly larger vessels begin operating on South America's east coast, demanding greater productivity, deeper access channels and efficient cargo handling.
Global reorganization favors the region
The redistribution of worldwide capacity also reflects the impacts of geopolitical tensions. The security crisis in the Red Sea continues to cause vessels to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, increasing voyage times and requiring more ships to maintain service regularity between Asia and Europe.
This scenario has been encouraging shipowners to diversify markets and strengthen operations in regions with growth potential, such as Latin America and Africa.
For industry analysts, the trend is that the region will continue to attract maritime capacity investments in the coming years, driven by agribusiness expansion, e-commerce, industry and growing integration with Asian markets.
The challenge, however, will be ensuring that infrastructure investments keep pace with demand growth, preventing operational bottlenecks from undermining the logistics competitiveness of Brazilian ports.
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