[4][5] It possesses a wide variety of cargo handling terminals—solid and liquid bulk, containers, and general loads.

The terrestrial access system to the port is made up by the Anchieta and Imigrantes highways and by the railroads operated by Ferroban and MRS.

The location of the city of Santos was chosen at a convenient point for crossing the Serra do Mar mountain range, which is the main obstacle to access the interior.

This allowed for an easier transportation of the vast masses of migrant workers who headed to São Paulo and the state's numerous coffee farms.

Millions of immigrants reached Brazil via the Port of Santos in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, proceeding to the country's interior by railway.

[6] In 1913, there were about 90,000 inhabitants in the city of Santos and the economically active population was at about 37,000 with 22.7 percent working in the port as longshoremen, stevedores, carters, porters and coffee sackers.

[6] Lack of investments and high tariffs were factors observed at the time and led the Port of Santos to a rapid decay around 1970.

[8] In 2016 the port declared that it had insufficient funds to pay for extra benefits and raises causing slowdowns.

[7] The financial and commercial center of the city was close to the docks, which made for a more heterogeneous society in those areas.

[6] The port is considering a few possible solutions such as deepening the channels, applying intelligent transportation systems technologies, and better truck storage facilities.