Incheon Airport Benefits from Chinese E-commerce... Brokerage Cargo Hits Record High

As the volume of goods handled by Chinese e-commerce platforms such as AliExpress and Temu rapidly increased, the cargo transportation volume at Incheon Airport, which served as an intermediary, also recorded an all-time high. This was due to goods imported by sea from China being air-transported worldwide through Incheon Airport.

Incheon International Airport Corporation announced on the 13th that the volume of 'sea-air combined transport cargo' processed through Incheon Airport last year reached 98,560 tons, a 43.1% increase compared to the previous year. This is the highest record since the opening of Incheon Airport. Sea-air combined transport cargo mainly involves goods transported by sea from China to various ports on Korea’s west coast (Incheon, Pyeongtaek, Gunsan), then shipped worldwide via Incheon Airport.

The background of this performance is attributed to the growth of Chinese e-commerce companies. 99.6% of the sea-air combined transport cargo originated from China. In particular, a significant portion consisted of e-commerce products departing from the northeastern region of China. One of the main departure points, Weihai in China, is designated by the Chinese government as an overseas direct purchase logistics hub city. According to Chinese government policies, a substantial amount of e-commerce cargo departing from China is consolidated at logistics centers in this region before being exported overseas.

The final destinations of the cargo were mainly distant regions such as North America (47%) and Europe (31%). The cargo share by port where sea transport arrived was Gunsan Port (40%), Incheon Port (38%), and Pyeongtaek Port (22%) in that order. Due to advantages in cargo transshipment time, vessel operation schedules, and loading volume at Gunsan Port compared to Incheon Port, the Gunsan route was preferred despite taking about three hours to move cargo to Incheon Airport.

Lee Hak-jae, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, said, "For Incheon Airport cargo to continue growing, it is necessary not to be complacent with the domestic market but to actively pioneer overseas cargo markets." He added, "We will develop Incheon Airport into an e-commerce logistics hub airport in the Asian region by pioneering overseas markets using various routes including air and sea."

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