Yeosu Gwangyang Port, Turning to an Increase in Total Cargo Volume

As of April, Maintaining No.1 in Domestic Processing with 67 Million Tons

Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority (President Park Seong-hyun, YGPA) announced that the cumulative total cargo volume at Yeosu Gwangyang Port reached 91 million tons as of April this year, marking an upward trend in cargo volume.

The total cargo volume, which started with a 1.5% decline in January compared to the previous year, fell by 4.7% and 1.5% in the cumulative figures for February and March respectively, before turning to a 1% increase in April.

[Photo by Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority]

By item, petrochemical cargo volume increased by 2.3% year-on-year to 49.4 million tons, and steel products increased by 4.3% year-on-year to 30.1 million tons.

However, container cargo volume, which accounts for about 10% of the total cargo volume at Yeosu Gwangyang Port, decreased by 16.8% year-on-year to 583,000 TEU.

YGPA analyzed that the decrease in container cargo volume was due to the fact that last year, irregular calls by tramp vessels at Gwangyang Port increased because of frequent skips on deep-sea routes caused by congestion at North American ports throughout the year. This year, as container services regained punctuality, the volume of tramp vessels significantly decreased.

Additionally, the significant reduction in transshipment cargo, which is handled at the expense of shipping companies to improve their revenue structure, is also seen as a major cause of the decrease in container cargo volume.

YGPA plans to continuously expand port support functions for regional industries such as petrochemical and steel cargo, which are the main industries in the Gwangyang Bay area, and actively support smoother regional import and export logistics services, especially by enhancing the convenience of container port services.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr