Tariff Impact: Average Daily Exports Drop 10.6% Through the 20th of This Month (Comprehensive)

Korea Customs Service Releases Export and Import Status for September 1?20
Number of Working Days Increases by 3.5 Due to Later Chuseok,
Total Exports Up 13.5%
Working Days in October to Decrease by Two

Due to the impact of tariff measures implemented by the second Donald Trump administration in the United States, South Korea's average daily exports from September 1 to 20 decreased by more than 10%. Although total exports increased by 13.5%, when excluding the effect of the increased number of working days, the negative impact of U.S. tariffs on Korean exports remains evident.

According to the "Export and Import Status for September 1-20" released by the Korea Customs Service on September 22, total exports reached 40.1 billion dollars, a 13.5% increase compared to the same period last year. The export value surpassed the previous September record of 36.5 billion dollars set in 2018, marking the highest September figure ever.

Export cars are waiting to be loaded at Pyeongtaek Port, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy explained, "Last year, the Chuseok holiday fell in September, but this year it is in October, so the number of working days from September 1 to 20 was 16.5 days, 3.5 days more than the same period last year (13 days), which contributed to the increase in total exports." The official added, "However, when considering the number of working days, the average daily export value was 2.43 billion dollars, a decrease of 10.6%."

The decline in average daily exports in September widened from 8.4% during September 1-10 to 10.6% during September 1-20. If this trend continues, it is highly likely that the monthly average daily exports for September will also decrease. The total number of working days from September 1 to 31 this year is 24, which is four days more than the same period last year (20 days).

Due to the increase in working days, exports of major items from September 1 to 20 mostly rose, except for petroleum products, which fell by 4.5%. Compared to the same period last year, exports of semiconductors increased by 27.0%, passenger cars by 14.9%, ships by 46.1%, and wireless communication devices by 3.3%.

Exports to all of the top ten major countries also increased. Exports to China and the United States, South Korea's two largest export markets, rose by 1.6% and 6.1%, respectively. In addition, exports to Vietnam (22.0%), the European Union (10.7%), and Taiwan (22.9%) also expanded.

As of September 20, imports reached 38.2 billion dollars, a 9.9% increase compared to the same period last year. By item, imports of semiconductors (4.1%), semiconductor manufacturing equipment (49.9%), machinery (16.3%), and gas (10.4%) increased, while imports of crude oil decreased by 9.4%. By country, imports from China (18.8%), the European Union (10.4%), the United States (6.9%), Japan (4.5%), and Australia (27.7%) all increased.

As exports exceeded imports from September 1 to 20, the trade balance recorded a surplus of 1.894 billion dollars. As a result, the cumulative trade surplus from the beginning of this year through September 20 expanded to 42.802 billion dollars.

A Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy official stated, "Overall, we expect a positive result for September due to the increased number of working days." The official added, "Last September, the average daily export value was relatively high because there were fewer working days due to the Chuseok holiday, but this time, with the combined impact of U.S. tariff measures, a decrease in average daily exports is inevitable."

In fact, the average daily export value in September last year was 2.93 billion dollars, higher than in August (2.45 billion dollars) and October (2.61 billion dollars) of the same year. In contrast, this year, October, which includes the Chuseok holiday, has 20 working days, two days fewer than last year (22 days). The shortage of working days is likely to lead to a decline in total exports.

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