Home > Business > Economy

Cargo processed at Korean seaports increases in October

Cargo processed at Korean seaports increased nearly 4 percent in October on a rise in petrochemicals exports and ore imports, government data showed Tuesday.

Cargo handled at the country's ports stood at 133.9 million tons last month, up 3.9 percent from a year earlier, according to data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

Handling of export-import cargo also increased 3.5 percent on-year to 113.7 million tons.

Container cargo expanded 1.5 percent on-year to 2.56 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in October as exports to the United States swelled 9.1 percent.

Non-container cargo handled at the ports came to 88.4 million tons last month, up 4.9 percent from the same month a year ago.

In contrast, transshipment cargo, or cargo processed here en route to final destinations, shrank 0.4 percent on-year to 1.09 million TEUs.

Busan was the country's busiest maritime gateway in October, with its container cargo handling rising 2 percent to 1.94 million TEUs. Incheon came next with 268,000 TEUs, which was down 5.4 percent from a year ago, according to the data.

Yonhap