Continuous Increase
Incheon Port Authority announced on April 27 that the container cargo traffic in the first quarter of this year posted 579,495 TEU, up 7.6 percent from 538,509 TEU a year earlier.
The import cargo increased by 22,644 TEU year-on-year to stand at 297,843 TEU, accounting for 51.4 percent of the total cargo handling. The export cargo reached 275,098 TEU, up 17,045 TEU from a year ago. The volume of transshipments and coastal shipments stood at 4,226 TEU and 2,329 TEU each.
By country, the trade volume with China grew by 8.1 percent or 25,482 TEU, posting 340,062 million TEU. The growth was caused by the increase in imports from China and the increase in empty containers handled at Incheon Port, which is caused by the imbalance between import and export volumes.
The trade volume with Vietnam, which is emerging as a new production base in Southeast Asia, showed 48,733TEU, a 12.7 percent increase from a year ago, due to the results of Korean manufacturers’ investment in the South East Asian country.
By region, the trade volume with Far East Asia including China and Southeast Asia increased by 8.4 percent and 8.2 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the trade volume with Europe and the Middle East decreased by 37.1 percent and 31.0 percent, each.
Import and export products, which showed increases in trade volume, are machineries and their parts, electronic appliances and their parts, and other animal and plant products. Of 32 products, 23 showed a growth in trade volume.
The bulk cargo volume during the same period marked an 11.5 percent increase year-on-year, standing at 31.44 million RT. RT is a weight or volume unit to determine freight rates. The import bulk cargo increased 7.0 percent year-on-year to reach 19.80 million tons, accounting for 63 percent of the total volume. Marking a 2.2 percent increase year-on-year, the export cargo recorded 2.89 million tons, accounting for a 9 percent share. The volume of coastal cargo accounted for a 28 percent share of the total cargo volume, marking a 30.4 percent increase from a year earlier.
Hong Kyeong-won, director of the Operating Division at IPA, said, “As some 50 percent of the newly built plants nationwide are concentrated in the metropolitan area, the vicinity of the Incheon Port, the trade volume is expected to increase continuously.”