News
A total of 134,300 TEUs of containers were moved between Japan and South Korea in September, which plunged 12% year on year from 152,800 TEUs, the Korea Nearsea Freight Conference (KNFC) unveiled recently. Exports from South Korea increased 2% to 28,100 TEUs, enjoying their first year-on-year improvement in five months. On the other hand, imports from Japan and transshipment (T/S) containers handled on the trade both remained on a downward trend, going down 8% to 21,400 TEUs and 17% to 84,800 TEUs, respectively.
From the beginning of the year, 1,279,900 TEUs were traded in total in January-September, down 11% from a year earlier. It was the first double-digit decline marked in 11 years, or since 2009, when container movement on the trade halved when the world was financially hit hard by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. On a month-by-month basis, double-digit decreases were registered for four months in a row, or from June.
Container trade between the economies continued to wane in October, going down 3% to 203,800 TEUs, according to preliminary figures. Exports from South Korea plummeted 11% to 108,000 TEUs, but imports from Japan rose 8% to 95,800 TEUs. It was notable that incoming shipments from Japan, which had long remained sluggish, came back to accomplish considerable growth.
