Incheon Port 'Con' Cargo Volume Surpasses 3 Million TEU in Shortest Time... Surge in Used Car Exports Key Factor

Incheon Port Authority (IPA) announced on the 20th that the cumulative container throughput at Incheon Port surpassed 3 million TEU (1 TEU equals one 20-foot container) as of the 19th this year. This marks a record 5 days faster than in 2021, when 3 million TEU was achieved the quickest.

Since first surpassing 3 million TEU in container throughput in 2017, Incheon Port has handled over 3 million TEU for seven consecutive years through this year. Despite adverse domestic and international conditions such as the US-China trade dispute, the Russia-Ukraine war, and sluggish domestic private consumption, IPA analyzed that the shortened time to reach 3 million TEU this year was mainly due to the expansion of used car exports utilizing containers and the opening of six new routes including the Middle East route.

Incheon New Port Container Terminal [Photo provided by Incheon Port Authority]

According to the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute, as of the end of last month, 79.7% (329,000 units) of the total 413,000 used cars exported from Incheon Port were transported by container ships. Additionally, exports of seafood, lumber, and machinery from Incheon Port increased by 70.4%, 37.3%, and 19.1% respectively compared to the previous year as of the end of October, driving the container throughput at Incheon Port.

Furthermore, IPA actively conducted port sales activities in China, Southeast Asia, and the Americas this year to attract new container routes. In particular, President Lee Kyung-gyu recently focused on attracting cargo volume by promoting Incheon Port’s logistics environment in cities such as Shanghai and Qingdao in China.

An official from Incheon Port Authority stated, "If the current cargo volume trend continues until the end of the year, it is expected to surpass the record-high throughput of 3.35 million TEU in 2021," adding, "Moreover, used car exports are also expected to break the previous record of 419,000 units set in 2019."

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