Ministry of Industry Warns of Expanding Damage from Cargo Solidarity Transport Refusal... Status Check on Cement, Refining, Steel, etc.

Inspection of Major Industry Damage Status and Countermeasures

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The government has launched an emergency supply and demand inspection for key industries such as cement, fearing that the damage caused by the Cargo Solidarity transport refusal will expand in earnest.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that First Vice Minister Jang Young-jin held a meeting on the "Damage Status and Countermeasures for Key Industries such as Cement, Refining, and Steel" at the Seoul Government Complex on the 1st. According to the industry, during the seven days from the 24th to the 30th of last month, when the Cargo Solidarity began the transport refusal, the estimated scale of shipment disruptions in sectors such as cement, steel, automobiles, and refining reached a provisional 1.6 trillion won.

The Ministry of Industry expects that if the transport refusal prolongs, shipment disruptions will lead to production disruptions, expanding the scale of damage to a massive level.

Fortunately, in the cement industry, the number of drivers returning to transport has increased since the work commencement order, resulting in an increase in shipment volume, reducing the initially feared possibility of production suspension. In refining, efforts are underway to expand shipment volume by securing alternative tank lorries, but sold-out gas stations are spreading from the metropolitan area to regions such as Chungcheong and Gangwon. To minimize public damage, measures such as issuing work commencement orders are being actively considered.

On the 29th, when the government issued a work commencement order against the general strike of the Cargo Solidarity Headquarters of the Public Transport Union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Lee Kwang-jae (left), head of the Seoul-Gyeonggi Regional Headquarters of the Cargo Solidarity Headquarters, and Lee Bong-ju, chairman of the Cargo Solidarity Headquarters, protested the order by shaving their heads at the rally held at the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi Province. / Uiwang = Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

In the petrochemical industry, a minimum scale of shipment (10-30% compared to normal times) is continuing for each company, and some companies in the Daesan and Ulsan petrochemical complexes, where shipments have been completely stopped, are reportedly considering production cuts starting this week. The steel industry also took preemptive measures such as large-scale pre-shipment before the transport refusal, but the industry forecasts that if shipment levels at about 50% of normal persist long-term, the need for production adjustment may arise.

The Ministry of Industry is reviewing support measures, including acting on behalf of small and medium-sized cargo owners who suffered damages due to the Cargo Solidarity transport refusal in lawsuits for compensation, in cooperation with major economic organizations and industry associations such as the Korea International Trade Association, Korea Petrochemical Industry Association, Korea Iron & Steel Association, Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, and Automobile Industry Cooperative.

First Vice Minister Jang Young-jin said, "The prolonged Cargo Solidarity transport refusal situation is a serious one where damage can spread throughout the industry and into the daily lives of the public," adding, "We will take all-out measures such as work commencement orders and provide timely support for difficulties raised in industrial sites."