"Incheon Port Sees Increased Cargo Volume Despite COVID-19 Crisis... Records Highest Throughput in January"

Monthly Milestone: Surpassing 300,000 TEU for the First Time
Strong Export and Import Performance from China, Vietnam, and Others

Incheon New Port Hanjin Incheon Container Terminal Photo by Incheon Port Authority

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon Port, which recorded the highest annual cargo volume ever last year amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, continues its record-breaking streak this year.

According to the Incheon Port Authority on the 22nd, the container cargo volume handled at Incheon Port last month was 311,112 TEU (1 TEU equals one 20-foot container), marking a 17.1% increase compared to the same month last year.

This surpasses Incheon Port's previous highest monthly record of 297,963 TEU set in November last year.

Although Incheon Port's cargo volume decreased for three consecutive months until March last year due to the impact of COVID-19, it turned to an upward trend from April and has continuously broken monthly container cargo volume records.

Last month's cargo volume consisted of 156,221 TEU in imports and 143,850 TEU in exports, increasing by 10.6% and 18.8% respectively compared to the same month last year.

By country, container import volumes showed growth of 18.3%, 8.3%, and 38% from China (95,228 TEU), Vietnam (22,466 TEU), and Hong Kong (5,038 TEU), respectively.

The import share by country was 61% from China, 14.4% from Vietnam, 3.8% from Thailand, 3.2% from Hong Kong, and 2.9% from Indonesia, with these countries accounting for 85.3% of total container imports.

In container export volumes, China (91,200 TEU), domestic other ports (20,482 TEU), and Vietnam (12,031 TEU) recorded increases of 12.6%, 24%, and 38.9%, respectively.

The export share by country was 63.4% to China, 8.4% to Vietnam, 5.1% to Taiwan, 2.8% to Hong Kong, and 1.5% to Thailand, with these countries accounting for 81.2% of total container exports.

The Incheon Port Authority analyzed that the increase in cargo volume last month was due to favorable export and import conditions centered on China and Vietnam, Incheon Port's major trading partners, as well as the base effect from the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday in January last year.

Additionally, the opening of a new route connecting Incheon?China?Hong Kong?Taiwan?Malaysia at the beginning of last month is also considered to have influenced the increase.

Lee Jeonghaeng, Vice President of Operations at Incheon Port Authority, stated, "We will strengthen domestic and international non-face-to-face marketing and efforts to attract global major shippers to achieve this year's Incheon Port cargo volume target of 3.45 million TEU."

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