South Korean ports see first quarter trading increase

Port shipments handled at 29 trading ports in South Korea in the first quarter of 2010 surged 12.3 percent from the same period a year before to 281 million tonnes, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported.

Pyeongtaek-Dangjin Port saw a 59 percent increase on the back of Hyundai Steel's operation; the Port of Busan and the Port of Gwangyang posted increases of 26.7 percent and 16.8 percent, respectively.

Also, container throughput in the first quarter of 2010 registered a 23.9 percent year-on-year increase to 4.437 million TEUs.

The Port of Busan, of which container throughput accounts for 74 percent of the nation's total volume, grew 21.3 percent to register a container throughput of 3.26 million TEUs. Incheon Port and the Port of Gwangyang reported increase of 38.9 percent and 28.5 percent, respectively.

Source: Cargo News Asia