January Port Cargo Volume Down 1.6%... Container Traffic Up for 5 Consecutive Months

Impact of Decreased Oil Export and Import Cargo Volume
Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries: "Cargo Volume to Recover Once COVID-19 Subsides... Proactive Promotion of New Shipping Routes"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Last month, the volume of cargo handled at national trade ports decreased by 1.6% compared to a year earlier due to the decline in oil exports and imports. On the other hand, container cargo volume increased by 3.8% during the same period, supported by the recovery of cargo volume in the Americas region, continuing its upward trend for five consecutive months.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 21st that the total port cargo volume in January this year was 128.95 million tons, down 1.6% from the same month last year (131.04 million tons).

Although container cargo volume and iron ore import volume increased, the volume of oil exports and imports and the import volume of thermal coal for power generation continued to decline, resulting in a 1% decrease compared to the same month last year (112.33 million tons), totaling 111.18 million tons.

Coastal cargo volume decreased by 5.1% compared to the same month last year (18.71 million tons), recording 17.77 million tons due to reduced consumption of ore, steel products, and oil.

By port, Ulsan Port's cargo volume decreased by 4.2% compared to the same month last year. Ports with high container throughput such as Busan Port, Gwangyang Port, and Incheon Port increased by 3%, 0.7%, and 0.2%, respectively, during the same period.

Container cargo volume (measured in TEU; 1 TEU equals one 20-foot container) recorded 2.47 million TEU, a 3.8% increase from 2.38 million TEU in the same month last year, driven by the rebound in demand in the Americas region since last September and the deployment of temporary vessels on the Americas and Southeast Asia routes. This marks five consecutive months of growth.

Exports and imports recorded 1.42 million TEU, an 8.9% increase from 1.31 million TEU in the same month last year. Exports increased by 11.7% to 710,000 TEU, and imports rose by 6.2% to 710,000 TEU. The increase in export and import volumes was led by a 13% and 8.4% rise in trade with China and the United States, respectively.

Transshipment volume recorded 1.02 million TEU, a 2.4% decrease from 1.05 million TEU in the same month last year.

By port, Busan Port recorded 1.84 million TEU, a 1.9% increase from 1.805 million TEU in the same month last year; Incheon Port recorded 307,000 TEU, a 15.7% increase from 266,000 TEU; and Gwangyang Port recorded 164,000 TEU, a 1.8% decrease from 168,000 TEU.

Last month, non-container cargo volume totaled 85.4 million tons, down 4.5% from 89.46 million tons in the same month last year.

Due to the recovery of cargo volume related to steelmaking products such as iron ore and steel products, Gwangyang Port recorded 20.74 million tons, a 0.9% increase from 20.54 million tons in the same month last year, but most ports showed a declining trend. Ulsan Port recorded 14.81 million tons, down 4.9% from 15.58 million tons; Incheon Port recorded 9.48 million tons, down 6.7% from 10.16 million tons; and Pyeongtaek-Dangjin Port recorded 8.86 million tons, down 1.6% from 9 million tons.

Park Youngho, head of the Port Logistics Planning Division at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, analyzed, "Due to the continued contraction of trade caused by COVID-19, export and import cargo volumes slightly decreased, but the reduction compared to the previous month significantly narrowed, and the container cargo volume increased for five consecutive months compared to the same period last year, which is positive." He added, "It is expected that cargo volume will recover as the spread of COVID-19 subsides with the expansion of vaccine distribution. We will continue to monitor the current situation and proactively promote the attraction of new shipping routes in cooperation with port authorities."

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