Record Freight Volume
Container traffic volume in Incheon Port reached a record high last year.
The figure stood at 2.334970 million TEU, an 8.1 percent or 170,000 TEU increase from the previous year. TEU stands for Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit. Also, container traffic surpassed 2 million TEU for two years in a row after 2013.
According to Incheon Port Authority (president Yoo Chang-keun) on Feb. 2, the import container volume handled in Incheon Port last year increased by 8.1 percent to 1.203187 TEU, while the export container volume increased by 10.9 percent to 1.103991 TEU.
The transshipment and coastal traffic volumes recorded 16,665 TEU and 11,128 TEU, respectively.
In July last year, which is usually a slow season for traffic volume, the container freight volume increased by 32,815 TEU from a year ago. On average, the volume went up by more than 17,000 TEU a month.
In particular, the volume recorded 200,000 TEU for 4 months in a row from May last year, and it achieved the monthly highest record in October, reaching 208,453 TEU.
The major factor of the increase in the traffic volume is the steady growth of trade volume with China amid the slightly easing trend of economic uncertainties.
Yoo Chang-keun, president of the Incheon Port Authority, said, “When new Incheon ports are partially opened at the first half of this year, the container traffic volume with China in Incheon Port is expected to grow further. Therefore, we set a goal of 2.6 million TEU this year, reflecting the growing trend of traffic volume last year.”