Korea 2010 port container traffic the highest ever

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs announced that port container traffic in 2010 rose by 18.3 percent from last year to a record 19.32 million TEUs and was 7.8 percent more than 2008, when cargo volume set a new record, reported Maeil Business Newspaper.

As the real economy showed sound recovery in 2010, export and import cargoes (12.33 million TEUs) and transhipment cargo (6.61 million TEUs) have grown 18.9 percent and 15.7 percent from the same period of last year respectively.

Coastal cargoes (376,000 TEUs) rose significantly by 48.5 percent, thanks to the efforts to promote coastal shipping for green growth.

Cargo volume at Busan Port was 14.18 million TEUs in 2010, which was 18.4 percent higher than last year. With increased coastal shipping services such as the Busan-Pohang route, Busan port handled 73.6 percent of total container volume, which is a 0.3 percent increase compared to 2009.

At Gwangyang Port, accumulated cargo volume recorded 2.06 million TEUs in 2010, up 14.1 percent from a year ago, exceeding two million TEUs in 12 years and laying the foundation of quality services for shipowners and shippers.

At Incheon Port, cargo volume in 2010 increased by 19.6 percent from last year at 1.88 million TEUs.

Cargo volumes in December 2010 increased by 10.8 percent compared to the same month of last year to 1.71 million TEUs, which is the highest monthly record since May 2010.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)