Did the Work Order Take Effect... Cargo Volume at 12 Ports Including Busan Port Recovers Up to 80%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] On the 9th day of the Cargo Solidarity Union's general strike, some truck owners returned to work following the government's work commencement order on the 2nd, leading to container import and export volumes at some ports, including Busan Port, recovering to normal levels.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 2nd, the nighttime container import and export volume (from 5 p.m. the previous day to 10 a.m. on the day) at 12 ports nationwide reached 29,766 TEU, recovering to 81% of normal levels. This is a 17 percentage point increase compared to 23,733 TEU (64%) at 10 a.m. the previous day.

Busan Port, which has the largest container import and export volume, has almost normalized. The nighttime import and export volume had dropped to 25% of normal levels on the 28th of last month but rose to 95% on this day.

However, Gwangyang Port's container import and export volume remained at only 0-2% of normal levels.

Cement shipment volume nearly doubled in one day, reaching 82,000 tons on the previous day.

However, in the petroleum sector, due to the prolonged strike, inventory shortages are spreading from the metropolitan area to regions such as Chungnam and Chungbuk. Since the 30th of last month, the government has temporarily authorized paid transportation of petroleum using private tank lorries to support petroleum transport. They have secured and are operating 56 tank lorries, including adding 6 alternative tank lorries.

Meanwhile, as of 10 a.m. on this day, 6,700 Cargo Solidarity Union members were gathered and waiting while holding rallies in 17 regions nationwide. Although this is about 50 fewer than the previous day, many union members are still participating in the strike.

Additionally, the government's work commencement order issuance to truck owners (union members) in the cement sector is nearing completion.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to complete most of the issuance and delivery of work commencement orders within the day. Until the previous day, a joint investigation team from the Ministry, local governments, and the National Police Agency completed on-site investigations of 193 out of 201 cement transportation companies.

They secured a list of 777 truck owners and handed over work commencement orders on-site to the transportation companies. For 554 truck owners whose addresses were confirmed, postal delivery was conducted sequentially, completing postal dispatch for 425 individuals over three days from the 29th of last month to the 1st. Furthermore, starting from the 5th, on-site investigations will be conducted to check the status of transportation resumption for truck owners who received work commencement orders.