February Port Export-Import Cargo Volume Rebounds After 14 Months of Decline

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Last month, the volume of import and export cargo handled at national trade ports increased for the first time in 14 months since December 2019.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 21st that the volume of import and export cargo handled at ports nationwide last month was 102.78 million tons, a 0.4% increase compared to the same period last year (102.35 million tons).

The volume of import and export cargo, which had shown an increasing trend until December 2019, turned to a decline from January last year and continued to decrease compared to the same period of the previous year until January this year. However, due to the recent global carbon dioxide reduction policies, the volume of petroleum and gas cargo increased, and exports of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and eco-friendly cars rose, causing the import and export cargo volume to rebound slightly for the first time in 14 months.

However, the total cargo volume of all ports, including import/export and coastal ports, last month was 118.3 million tons, a 2.3% decrease compared to the same period last year (121.11 million tons).

Among the cargo volume at national ports last month, containers amounted to 2.21 million TEU (1 TEU equals one 20-foot container), down 0.9% from the same period last year. Of these, import and export containers decreased by 0.6% to 1.26 million TEU. Transshipment decreased by 1% to 930,000 TEU.

By port, the container volume at Busan Port was 1.677 million TEU, down 3.4%. Import and export cargo volume decreased by 7.9% compared to the same period last year, but transshipment increased by 0.7% thanks to increased cargo volume from China. Gwangyang Port handled 158,000 TEU, a 15.5% decrease compared to the same month last year (187,000 TEU). Incheon Port handled 246,000 TEU, a 36.4% increase, largely influenced by increased cargo volume on new routes to Vietnam and China opened in February and July last year.

Last month, the volume of non-container cargo at national ports totaled 79.59 million tons, down 5.4% compared to the same period last year. Gwangyang Port (0.5%), Incheon Port (1.2%), and Pyeongtaek-Dangjin Port (2.5%) showed slight increases, while Ulsan Port decreased by 16%. In the case of Ulsan Port, despite an increase in automobile export volume, the volume of petroleum import/export and bituminous coal import significantly decreased, resulting in a non-container cargo volume of only 12.87 million tons.

Among non-container cargo items at national ports last month, automobiles increased by 20.2% compared to the same period last year, reaching 6.04 million tons. Bituminous coal recorded a slight increase of 0.2% to 8.87 million tons. Petroleum (38.8 million tons) and ore (10.06 million tons) each decreased by 5%.

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