News
Container movement in the Far East is growing, mainly on the trade route to and from South Korea.
A total of 665,057 TEUs were moved between Japan and South Korea in the first four months (January-April), which increased 7.4% year on year, according to the Korea Nearseas Freight Conference (KNFC). Local containers grew 2% to 246,901 TEUs, while transshipment (T/S) containers improved a more notable 16.4% to 315,572 TEUs. Feeder containers diminished 3.5% to 102,584 TEUs.
In April, in particular, the economies traded 183,332 TEUs, which surged 12% (approximately 20,000 TEUs) from 163,651 TEUs and broke the previous high of 171,851 TEUs set in July 2017 to establish a new record. Transport demand, which has been weak in May and June, is expected to rebound in July, when the peak season begins.
The trade between South Korea and China was adversely impacted by the import ban on waste paper and solid waste such as plastic that Beijing had imposed, and the retaliatory actions that it had taken against Seoul over the introduction of a THAAD missile defense system from the U.S. The Yellow Sea Liner Shipping Council (YSLSC) recently unveiled that 915,456 TEUs of containers were between the nations in the same four-month period, which fell 2.8%. South Korea’s exports shrank 4.5% to 355,232 TEUs, and its imports declined as well, down 1.8% to 560,224 TEUs.
In April, in contrast, 248,550 TEUs were transported on the route, which increased 3.4% from a year earlier and 3.5% from a month earlier. Thanks to robustness in the business performance of the Chinese manufacturing industry, in particular, containers from South Korea inflated 6.9%, posting the first year-on-year improvement in a year and three months, or since March 2017. It is estimated they remained massive in May.
Container trade is swelling every month on the South Korea/Russia route, as the Russian economy has been recovering since the second half of 2017. Container throughput, which amounted to 15,000 TEUs in January, expanded gradually to 16,000 TEUs in April and 19,000 TEUs in May. It is expected to exceed the 20,000-TEU line in June.
Freight rates are on a recovery track, too. In March, they were $200 to $300 per TEU, but have been increasing by approximately $50 every month since April.
