Busan Port Cargo Volume Rises to 4th Worldwide Despite COVID-19

Busan Port Authority, "Transshipment Cargo Increased, Rising Two Steps from 6th to 4th Worldwide Last Year"

Busan Port Authority announced that despite COVID-19, the cargo volume at Busan Port rose two ranks from last year to rank 4th in the world.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The port cargo volume of Busan Port, which ranked 6th in the world last year, rose two levels to 4th place globally despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Busan Port Authority (BPA) announced that as of the cumulative total in May 2020, it handled 9 million TEU of cargo volume, a 1.5% decrease compared to the previous year. Among them, export-import cargo volume decreased by 4.9%, while transshipment cargo volume increased by 1.5%, mitigating the overall decline in cargo volume.

Busan Port handled 21.99 million TEU last year, remaining the world's 6th largest port, but despite the spread of COVID-19, transshipment cargo volume showed an increasing trend, rising to 4th place globally as of the cumulative total in May.

The top ports recorded the following changes: Shanghai (1st) -7.5%, Singapore (2nd) -0.7%, Ningbo-Zhoushan (3rd) -6.7%, Busan (4th) -1.5%, and Shenzhen (5th) -13.4%.

The main reason for the favorable trend in transshipment cargo is interpreted as global shipping companies utilizing Busan Port's stability and excellent network amid frequent cancellations by shipping lines due to the spread of COVID-19. Busan Port is used as a transshipment hub to minimize the lead time of cargo.

The Port Authority expects that "although export-import cargo volume is likely to decrease for the time being as the economy enters a full-scale recession due to the spread of COVID-19, transshipment cargo volume will maintain the previous year's level without a significant decline based on Busan Port's excellent service network."

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