The Intermodal South America event began on March 5th, it was attended by public officials, business leaders, and experts from the logistics, cargo transport, intralogistics, and foreign trade sectors. The event continues until March 7 at the São Paulo Expo, in São Paulo, and gathers more than 500 exhibiting brands from over 15 countries. More than 43,000 professionals are expected over the three days of the event.
The event coincides with an important period for the country, marked by the growth of national productive sectors and an even greater evolution of the logistics sector, which gains more strength with the so-called multimodality. Indeed, this was a common topic addressed by participants during the opening ceremony. Each, in their segment, emphasized the importance of multimodal transportation and the need for investments in transport infrastructure and technological development.
Present at the ceremony, the São Paulo State Governor, Tarcísio de Freitas, stated that the logistics in Brazil is a challenge, but it is being gradually overcome. He used the 28th edition of Intermodal South America to showcase this evident growth in the sector.
“This event is the largest of all time and offers an opportunity to connect supply and demand, connect service providers, introduce new technologies, talk about intelligent transport systems, at a very interesting moment for Brazil, given that good winds are blowing for the country on the external scene. The approvals of the labor reform, the pension reform, the economic freedom law, as well as greater autonomy of the Central Bank, for example, have laid a stronger foundation for Brazil to think about a more sustainable and robust growth. Especially now, we can lead this process of energy transition because we have all the inputs to be protagonists in the issue of biomethane, green hydrogen, biofuels. Indeed, we can make giant leaps, obviously, with investments, both public and private, in infrastructure,” evaluated the Governor of São Paulo.
The Minister of Transportation, Renan Filho, commented that “Brazil has achieved significant growth, in both public and private investments, which obviously helps our economy because it generates employment in the short term and creates a positive externality to aid the competitiveness of all other economic sectors.”
The Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, highlighted that 2023 was a crucial year for Brazil's economic development. “Today, more than ever, Brazil is experiencing an important moment of economic growth resumption, since 2023 was very positive for our country, which began, for example, with a growth expectation of 0.6% and ended with about 3% increase in GDP. Just as the interest rate that at the beginning of the year was 13.75 and closed at 11.75".
According to Costa Filho, 2023 was a historic year for Brazil. "We paid almost R$ 100 billion in court-ordered debts, which will heat up the economy. This made Brazil become the 9th largest economy in the world and the second most sought-after bank worldwide, among the ten largest economies of the planet, being sought after by international investors, who want to invest in ports, airports, highways, infrastructure, oil, and gas, which will be essential for Brazil's development. Thus, with the resumption of public-private investment and dialogue with the productive sector, Brazil will grow a lot in the coming years,” commented the minister.
Moreover, Costa Filho listed partnerships with the Santos Port, the resumption of investment, and improvements made in the city with an investment of R$ 10 billion in recent years, which brought better urban mobility to the municipality, contributing to the logistical process.
The Minister of Ports and Airports also mentioned investments for Congonhas Airport and national waterways. “R$ 2 billion will be invested in Congonhas Airport, one of the hearts of Brazilian aviation, which will be fundamental for us to have a more structured airport. In addition, we have been working on the Ports Growth Acceleration Program, with investments of almost R$ 80 billion, in the Civil Aviation GAP, with about R$ 15 million, and R$ 4 billion in waterways, and it will be the first time that Brazil will have a waterways secretary,” he stated.
Expansion of Intermodal South America
During the opening ceremony, the Informa Markets Latam President, Marco Basso, highlighted the magnitude of the event and its importance in presenting innovations and technological solutions for all links of the logistics chain. “This is considered the largest event of the sector in the Americas; the event occupies four pavilions, the equivalent of more than 40,000 square meters, and we have more than 500 companies from 15 different countries that will present the latest market trends. Additionally, Intermodal South America plays the role of bringing companies together and fostering this synergy between the public and private sectors, so important for national development. We believe this to be one of the largest editions of all time,” said Basso.
The Director of the Infrastructure portfolio at Informa Markets, Hermano Pinto Jr, emphasized the meeting's concern with the theme of sustainability. “At this moment, the world is focused on environmental issues, such as the reduction of toxic gas emissions, and this sector has the strategic role of outlining new solutions and leading this agenda. It is our commitment to work on the adaptability of modes and invest in training and technology to ensure our complete alignment with COP 28,” highlighted Hermano.
The CEO of MSC, Elber Justo, the event's sponsoring host company, emphasized the importance of Intermodal South America for all links of the supply chain and the commitment of the companies in the sector to the country's development.
And the President of the National Transportation Confederation (CNT), Vander Costa, reinforced in his speech the importance of multimodality and the integration of modes for better logistics efficiency. “It is necessary to invest in integration and multimodality to achieve the sustainable efficiency we seek so much. The ESG agenda was embraced by the transportation chain and is a priority for the coming years”.
Agreements and Partnerships
Green Ports Partnership
The opening ceremony of Intermodal South America 2024 was also the stage for the signing of a joint declaration of Public-Private Partnership between Brazil and the Netherlands regarding the development of green ports, the so-called Green Ports Partnership.
The Deputy Mayor of Rotterdam, Robert Simons, was present at the meeting and emphasized the strategic importance that Brazilian ports have in the global chain, especially in the European continent. “Brazil is a very important partner for us, an old relationship that is growing more and more. I made it a point to come personally to sign this agreement and brought with me an experienced team of logistics partners to work on projects aimed at the future. Brazil and the Netherlands have in common the logistical importance for Europe, in addition to the ambition for building a better and more sustainable future”.
The Green Ports Partnership is a three-year cooperation program that will support Dutch companies to export and invest in Brazil, as well as promote exports and investment of Brazilian companies to the Netherlands, thus jointly expanding bilateral cooperation and knowledge exchange, developing port logistics, and generating business opportunities in the maritime market, focusing on the sustainable and innovative development of ports and terminals in Brazil, in addition to digitalization, sustainability, and energy transition.
The declaration was signed on behalf of Brazil by the Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho; the Program Director of the Special Secretariat for the Investment Partnership Program of the Civil House of the Presidency Pronouncements, Amanda Seabra; the General Director of ANTAQ, Eduardo Nery; the substitute director-general of ANTT, Guilherme Sampaio; and the President of INFRA S/A, Jorge Bastos. On behalf of the Netherlands, it was signed by the deputy mayor of Rotterdam, Robert Simons; the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, André Driessen; and the Senior Energy Advisor and Senior Manager of the Trade Promotion Program - ICEP, of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), Edu Willemse.
Technical Cooperation Agreement
On the occasion, the Technical Cooperation Agreement was signed between MOVEINFRA, INFRA S.A., CNT/SEST/SENAT, and CNI/SENAI in favor of new partnerships and investments in the national transportation logistics chain. Signing the document were: João Alberto Abreu, president of the MOVEINFRA Board of Directors; Natália Marcassa, CEO of MOVEINFRA; Jorge Bastos, CEO of INFRA S/A, Vander Costa, president of CNT/SEST/SENAT, and Renan Filho, Minister of Transportation.
The substitute director of the National Land Transportation Agency (ANTT), Guilherme Sampaio, highlighted the relevance of cooperation between different modes, such as land and waterway, for better use of national infrastructure and logistic performance. “We have a very close relationship with ANTAQ, an example of this is the very productive partnership that occurred in the Baixada Santista (Santos Coast). We seek efficient operation with a sustainable energy matrix through multimodality and intelligent application of resources”.
The director-general of ANTAQ, Eduardo Nery, extolled the positive numbers of port movement in Brazil last year. According to the executive, more than 1 billion and 300 million cargoes were moved in Brazilian ports in 2023, a historical record. According to Nery, one of the priority projects this year is to work on the land bottlenecks that give access to ports and the acceleration of waterways. “We have four waterway projects in progress: Uruguay/Brazil and Rio Madeira, both in advanced stages of development, Rio Paraguai, and Barra do Norte. We want to schedule public hearings on the concessions of this modal model. We need to optimize the potential of waterways, after all, there are more than 60,000 kilometers navigable”.
We invite you to also check:
