News
South Korean ports handled 2.32 million TEUs of containers in May, down 9.1% from the 2.55 million TEUs registered a year earlier, according to the nation’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF). In the first five months (January-May), combined container throughput shrank 2.2% year on year.
Looking more closely at exports and imports in May, those to and from China swelled 6.1%, but those to and from the U.S. plunged 25.4%. Containers to and from Japan fell 4.3%, while those to and from Vietnam declined 1.2%, indicating that oceangoing trade was week in general. Exports and imports totaled 1.2 million TEUs, incurring a double-digit decrease of 11.9%. Meanwhile, transshipment (T/S) containers contracted 6.5% to one million TEUs.
By port, Busan processed 1.7 million TEUs, down 11.5%, while Kwangyang also suffered a double-digit reduction in container lifting, handling 180,000 TEUs, down 13.9%. In contrast, Inchon performed well, thanks to an increase in container volume from a new service launched earlier, processing 281,000 TEUs, up 4.2%.
