Pohang City, Yeongilman Port Emerges as 'Yeongnam Region Used Car Export Hub Port'

Gyeongbuk Province and Pohang City Sign Export Agreement with Used Car Export Specialist... 'Yeongilman Port Export' Partnership

Yeongilman Port, Geographical Advantage and Spacious Harbor Area... Optimal Port for Entry into Russian Used Car Market

The scene of Pohang Yeongilman Port during the export operation of used cars in Korea last September and October.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] On the 7th, Pohang City signed a business agreement with a used car export specialized company at City Hall for the 'Export of Used Cars through Pohang Yeongilman Port.'

About 20 officials attended the agreement ceremony, including Mayor Kang-deok Lee, Deputy Governor of Gyeongbuk Province for Economic Affairs Dal-hee Lee, representatives from Daewoo Logistics, Samju Maritime, CIB Shipping, and Pohang Yeongil New Port.

Through this agreement, Gyeongbuk Province and Pohang City will provide administrative support to ensure smooth business operations for related companies at Yeongilman Port, and Pohang Yeongil New Port, the port operator, will provide port land and facilitate cargo handling operations.

Prior to the agreement, Daewoo Logistics, Samju Maritime, and CIB Shipping conducted three used car export operations at Yeongilman Port in September and October.

The export destinations were Egypt and Russia (Vladivostok Port), exporting a total of 3,204 vehicles, reviewing the port conditions and efficiency of cargo handling at Yeongilman Port.

During the vehicle loading operations, about 70 members of the port labor union, about 30 lashing workers (lashing: securing cargo or containers to the ship), and about 20 inspectors were involved, and an average of about 330 used car transport trailers were required.

A Pohang City official stated that as the volume of used cars increases, new jobs will be created and the business area will expand to related repair and parts industries. Currently, used cars are supplied from the Gyeonggi and metropolitan areas, but in the future, exported used cars from the Yeongnam region will be consolidated at Yeongilman Port, which is expected to reduce logistics costs for used car exporters in the Yeongnam region.

Korea's major used car export regions include the Middle East such as Egypt, Libya, and Jordan, Africa, and Latin America such as the Dominican Republic and Chile, exporting about 470,000 vehicles worth approximately 2 billion dollars in 2021.

A CIB Shipping official said, "The Middle East is a major export region, but due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the export of used cars to Russia is gradually increasing," adding, "This is likely due to Western economic sanctions on Russia reducing new car imports and the suspension of operations at global automobile brand factories in Russia."

In fact, as the war prolongs, global automakers such as Renault and Toyota, which had entered Russia, withdrew their businesses one after another earlier this year.

Mayor Kang-deok Lee emphasized, "Yeongilman Port has a geographical advantage being close to Russia's Vladivostok Port and has a large port area behind it, making it the optimal port for used car exports."

He added, "I hope this cargo volume, which will greatly help Yeongilman Port that has seen a sharp decline in cargo volume due to COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, will lead to new job creation and revitalization of the local economy."

Daewoo Logistics, which decided to use Yeongilman Port, contributed to securing initial cargo volume at Yeongilman Port by constructing a logistics center, attracting automobile KD (knock-down: disassembly, export, and customs clearance method) cargo volume, and containerizing POSCO wire rods with the opening of Yeongilman Port, and will oversee the handling operations of exported used cars.

Samju Maritime, a mid-sized shipping company owning six car carriers, transported 146,000 used cars and used equipment to the Middle East and Mediterranean regions in 2021 together with forwarder CIB Shipping.

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