○ Incheon Port Authority (www.icpa.or.kr, CEO Nam Bong Hyeon) announced on July 30 that Incheon Port's container volume in the first half of this year recorded 1,520,000TEU, which is a 3.7% increase from 1,469,495TEU during the same period the last year.

*TEU (Twenty-Feet Equivalent Unit): Refers to the volume unit of a 20-feet (or 6-meter-long) container

○ According to Incheon Port Authority (IPA), the import volume of the first half of this year was 782,538TEU, which is a 51,448TEU increase compared to the same period of the previous year, taking up 51.3% of the total volume. As for the export volume, it increased by 42,634TEU to 726,871TEU, as compared to the same period of the previous year. As for trans-shipment and coastal cargo volume, values of 11,247TEU and 3,544TEU were recorded, respectively.

○ By country, the trade volume with China recorded 894,112TEU, which is a 1.9%, or 16,621TEU, increase compared to the same period of the previous year. As for the main imported products of increase, electrical devices, general merchandise, and machinery showed increase rates of 5.2%, 4.6%, and 19.8%, respectively.

○ Trade volume with Vietnam recorded 148,295TEU, which is a 16.4% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. The main imported products from Vietnam included lumber, machinery, and general merchandise, while the exported products were vehicles, parts, industrial chemical goods, and machinery.

○ Furthermore, the volume with Thailand was 68,097TEU during the same period of the previous year, marking a 19.3% increase. The main imported products from Thailand included lumber and machinery while the exported products were industrial chemical goods, plastic products, and rubber products.

○ As for the main products of increase, vehicles and parts showed 1,426,000RT* with an increase rate of 59.0% (529,000RT) compared to the same period of the last year, while electrical devices increased by 9.5% (319,000RT) to 3,686,000RT, and were followed by lumber at 1,087,000RT with a 34.9% increase (282,000RT). Out of the 31 total processed products, the volume of 26 products increased and continuous growth was seen in the majority of products.

 *RT (Revenue Tons): Refers to the revenue ton that refers to the standard for claiming ocean freight charge and as for the freight charge with regards to carriage of goods, the weight or volume, whichever the higher freight is chosen.

○ The key reason for increase in volume is assumed to be the obvious increase in the volume with 3 major trading partners (China, Vietnam, and Thailand) for the container products, as well as a positive increase of the consumption demand in the metropolitan regions. A total of 1,377 container vessels embarked during the first half of this year and the processed volume per fleet was 957TEU on average, which is an increase of 1.2% compared to the same period of the previous year.

○ Lee Jeong Hang, the vice president stated that, “With IPA's active marketing for cargo owners and forwarders, the cargo volume of the first half of 2018 increased.” He added, “In the second half, we will also do our best to achieve the target of 2018 (3,300,000TEU) by reinforcing the marketing activities to establish new sea routes as well as by increasing the cargo volume through the existing ones.”