Due to the Impact of COVID-19... May Export and Import Cargo Volume Down 14%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 21st that the total port cargo volume handled at national trade ports in May was 118.74 million tons, a 12.0% decrease compared to the same month last year (134.98 million tons).

The import and export cargo volume totaled 103.2 million tons, a 14.0% decrease compared to the same month last year (116.66 million tons), as the negative impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continued.

Coastal cargo volume increased by 0.6% compared to the same month last year (18.32 million tons), reaching a total of 18.42 million tons. This was due to the resumption of sand extraction permits in the Incheon area (October 2019), which caused the sand cargo volume to rise significantly to 1.76 million tons (9.6% of coastal cargo volume) compared to 320,000 tons in the same month last year.

The container handling volume at national ports in May continued to decline due to the impact of COVID-19, recording 2.32 million TEUs, a 9.1% decrease compared to the same month last year (2.55 million TEUs).

Import and export cargo recorded 1.3 million TEUs, an 11.0% decrease compared to the same month last year, due to the impact of COVID-19. Although transshipment cargo volume increased by 70% due to the opening of new routes by global shipping companies at Incheon Port, the reorganization of alliances caused a significant decrease in cargo volume at Gwangyang Port (46.5% decrease) and a decrease at Busan Port (4.7% decrease), resulting in an overall 6.5% decrease in total transshipment cargo volume to 1 million TEUs compared to the same month last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.