By Jite Eriabie
South Korean ports handled 1.57 billion tons of cargo in 2017, marking a rise of 4.1 percent in total cargo volumes from the year before.
The country’s ports of Busan, Gwangyang and Incheon witnessed more volumes, reporting increases of 10.5 percent, 3.1 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
The improved numbers were mainly driven by more vehicle exports and coal imports, while a rise in machinery volumes also contributed to the overall volume, data from South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries shows.
While these segments were up by 14.4 percent, 11.6 percent and 8.3 percent from 2016, respectively, the ministry said that the cargo traffic of sand and steel dropped 35.9 percent and 12.8 percent.
Non-container cargo reached 1.09 billion tons, representing a rise of 1.7 percent over 2016, while the ports’ container volumes increased by 5.4 percent to 274.2 million TEUs.
The country’s port of Busan handled 400.5 million tons of cargo during 2017, followed by the port of Gwangyang with 291.8 million tons and Ulsan with 202.3 million tons.
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