News
Containers traded between South Korea and Southeast Asia plunged 24.7% year on year to 214,000 TEUs in July. They decreased on an accumulated scale, too, going down 0.4% to 1.688 million
TEUs in the first seven months (January-July). It is reported that sluggish demand and tonnage oversupply have intensified competition over cargo among shipping companies, leading to sharp declines in freight rates.
In January-July, South Korea exported 827,000 TEUs and imported 861,000 TEUs, both of which decreased 0.4%. Looking at exports by destination, those to Vietnam and Thailand swelled. Containers to Vietnam grew 8.4% to 280,000 TEUs, holding the largest share of the pie, while those to Thailand climbed 3.3% to 87,000 TEUs. In contrast, shipments to Hong Kong waned 5% to 151,000 TEUs and to Indonesia, 9.5% to 93,000 TEUs. Those to the Philippines suffered the largest contraction, plummeting 13.3% to 41,000 TEUs.
As for imports, those from Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore were brisk. Containers from Vietnam went up 4.2% to 267,000 TEUs; from Hong Kong, up 1.8% to 212,000 TEUs; from Indonesia, up 4.7% to 85,000 TEUs and from Singapore, up 8.6% to 30,000 TEUs. On the other hand, imports from the Philippines sank 20.7% to 23,000 TEUs, while those from Taiwan were also stagnant, diminishing 11% to 42,000 TEUs.
