Container cargo volume at seaports up 11.2 pct in May

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, June 22 (Yonhap) — The volume of container cargo processed at South Korea’s seaports jumped 11.2 percent in May from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, in yet another sign of a recovery in trade from the economic fallout of the new coronavirus pandemic.

Container cargo processed at the seaports reached 2.63 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in May, compared with 2.37 million TEUs in the previous year, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

The ministry attributed the growth to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout around the globe and the economic stimulus measures from major countries.

Processed export-import container cargo jumped 14.1 percent on-year to reach 1.51 million TEUs last month. Export cargo increased 13.2 percent to 750,000 TEUs, and imports also advanced 15 percent to 760,000 TEUs.

South Korea’s exports have been gathering ground for seven consecutive months on the back of the global economic recovery.

Outbound shipments also rose 29.5 percent on-year in the first 20 days of June on the back of robust demand for chips.

colin@yna.co.kr
(END) (YONHAP NEWS)