20.10.06Japan-S. Korea Box Traffic Plunges 10.8% in Jan-July

Trade between Japan and South Korea incurred a double-digit contraction in container throughput in the first seven months (January-July) of 2020, which plunged 10.8% from a year earlier to 1,010,200 TEUs, according to the Korea Nearsea Freight Conference (KNFC). There were several factors, including declines in demand from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the oversupply of iron/steel and petroleum products. Also, the government of Japan enhanced its control over products exported to South Korea in 2019, which led to boycotts of Japanese products in South Korea and finally to trade war between the economies. It is analyzed that such factors had a composite impact on container movement on the route.

In January-July, South Korea exported 199,600 TEUs to Japan, down 9.7%, and imported 165,300 TEUs, down 15.4%, while transshipment (T/S) containers moved on the trade accounted for the balance of 645,300 TEUs, down 9.9%.