Bureaucracy and paper work can be a serious impediment at the ports. Port reform legislation, enacted in 1993, has not yet significantly improved port conditions. The Brazilian government has promised to privatize the port system. Santo constitute two ports in Brazil, which are partially privatized along the southeastern coast. Costs are lower and turnaround time shorter there.
Internal transportation is primarily by truck.
The increasingly privatized highway network is adequate, but only reaches first world standards in the state of S-o Paulo. Fuel costs are high, and add significantly to the cost of transportation. Geographical constraints and environmental concerns have limited river transport development. Electric power generation is barely adequate, but needed investment in new capacity has been limited by the precarious financial situation of the government. Some independent analysts forecast as much as twenty- percent chance of power outages in 2001.