A escolha de portos de contêineres por empresas importadoras do setor metal mecânico : um estudo no sul do Brasil

Abstract

Currently, companies importers of the mechanical metal sector of the Serra region in the State of Rio Grande do Sul have different port alternatives for unloading their import cargo. Among these alternatives, in addition to the port of Rio Grande, the ports of Itajaí, Navegantes and Itapoá, in the neighboring state of Santa Catarina, can be mentioned. In addition, the possible installation of a port on the North Coast of Rio Grande do Sul has been recently discussed. In this context, this study aimed to analyze the choice of container terminals from the perspective of importing companies in the metal mechanic sector of Serra Gaúcha. Therefore, based on a literature review on port choice attributes and observable characteristics in the studied region, a survey was conducted through a set of stages, of which we highlight two of the main ones. The first step was to carry out a focus group with managers from importing companies in this sector, in order to validate the attributes identified in the literature and identify their current levels of variation in the studied ports. From the results of this step, the hierarchical structure of the problem was elaborated so that, in the second step, the process of hierarchical analysis of the existing port alternatives could be applied, considering two distinct scenarios. In the base scenario, the North Coast port presents a performance similar to that of the Rio Grande port, except with regard to land transport costs, since it is closer to Serra Gaúcha. And in the alternative scenario, a lower performance in terms of costs, container release times and vessel frequency is considered. The results in the base scenario indicated a balanced preference between the ports of Rio Grande, Litoral Norte, Navegantes and Itapoá. In the alternative scenario, the port of Rio Grande was preferred. As for the port choice criteria, there was a greater relevance of the frequency of ships, which is a critical aspect to be considered both by the current competing ports and for the feasibility of a possible port on the North Coast of Rio Grande do Sul. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]