Direct Connection between Incheon and Myanmar to Facilitate Export of Korean Used Cars

EUKOR Car Carrier Inc. will open a direct maritime carrier line connecting Incheon, Korea to Yangon, Myanmar in April.

The Incheon Port Authority (IPA) announced on April 6 that EUKOR Car Carrier Inc, a national flag car carrier, will start providing regular services linking Incheon, South Korea, to Yangon, Myanmar, on April 20.

According to the IPA, the national flag car carrier plans to deploy ships with capacity of loading 5,500 cars more than once a month. The maritime car carrier will increase the frequency of the shipping services, depending on the trade volume.

187,168 units of used cars were shipped out via the Incheon port last year, according to the IPA. Consequently the port plays a vital role to export used cars since it handles around 90 percent of the total volume (209,762 cars) of the country’s used car exports. Under the circumstance, the launching of the non-stop services would help increase the export from the Incheon port to Myanmar. The current export of used cars to the South Asian country stands at just a little more than two percent with 5,117 cars in 2014 and 3,760 cars in 2015, respectively.

Despite the fact that the car handle is located on the left-hand side in Myanmar as in Korea, Japan, which has handles on the right-hand side, has been the largest exporter of used cars to Myanmar thanks to its non-stop maritime car carrier services. With the setup of the regular direct line between South Korea and Myanmar, it is expected that the export of Korean used cars will gain a competitive edge.

Noting that the export of used cars was done through transshipments in Singapore or Japan, the port authority expects the launch of regular direct carrier service system to lower the logistics costs and help boost the country’s export of used cars to Myanmar.