Asia Shipping, the largest logistics integrator in Latin America, announces a growth of over 30% in maritime imports conducted by the company in 2024 to Brazil, compared to the previous year. The movements, totaling 230,556 TEUs (equivalent to a 20-foot container), represent the majority of the over 500,000 TEUs transported to Latin America in general. Segments such as automobiles, appliances, and tires are among those that showed higher demand during the period.
According to Alexandre Pimenta, CEO of Asia Shipping, Brazilian imports were driven by sectors that grew above the average in 2024 and are expected to continue expanding in the coming months. ‘Only tires, which can be represented by new tires applied to passenger cars, had a 15% increase in the period, with the majority of these imports coming from China,’ analyzes the executive.
Sales of appliances – another sector that led imports in the period – grew by 34% in the country in just the first half of last year, according to the National Association of Manufacturers of Electronic Products (Eletros). The expectation is that the sector will expand by around 15.6% in Brazil between 2024 and 2029, almost double what was recorded between 2019 and 2023, according to Euromonitor.
Unlike what was seen in 2024, for 2025, according to the Asia Shipping executive, it is possible that air transport will gain more prominence as an alternative route for imports, due to the tensions in the global geopolitical scenario. Despite the growth recorded by the company this year, many movements had to be rescheduled via maritime transport, facing delays and queues at ports.
The forecast is that conflicts in the Red Sea will continue, and major carriers will need to divert their routes through Africa, considering alternative routes to the Suez Canal. To avoid congestion and delays in imports at ports, air transport will be an alternative,” Pimenta points out.Investments and Acquisitions
As part of its growth strategy, in 2024 Asia Shipping made two important acquisitions. The first one was Dati, a cloud-based artificial intelligence platform that automates 87% of the steps in the import routine, providing insights that can make a difference for decision-making in various scenarios. From order tracking to cargo delivery, the platform enables importers and exporters to see their operations on a single screen; a solution that allows businesses to keep up with the dynamics of the competitive foreign trade market.
Another important acquisition by the company during the period was the Santa Catarina-based Hórus Logística. With this move, Asia Shipping started serving the end-to-end logistics chain with warehousing, cross-docking, and inventory management solutions, services that utilize technologies like RFID tracking, warehouse management software (WMS), and Power BI (Business Intelligence).
