21.02.01S. Korea-Japan Box Traffic Contracts 1.5% in November

South Korea traded 149,200 TEUs of containers with Japan in November 2020, which declined 1.5% year on year from 151,500 TEUs, according to the Korea Nearsea Freight Conference (KNFC).

Direct shipments increased in both directions, with those from South Korea to Japan going up 5.9% to 31,000 TEUs and those from Japan to South Korea up 3.8% to 25,500 TEUs. On the other hand, transshipment (T/S) containers moved between the economies fell 5.1% from 97,600 TEUs to 92,600 TEUs, leading to the mild shrinkage of the overall trade.

From the beginning of the year, a total of 1,579,900 TEUs were carried on the route in January-November, which waned 9.8%. On a full-year basis, the first double-digit contraction is envisaged since 2009, when the global economy was hit hard by the financial crisis from the U.S.