[Report] Exports Expected to Plummet This Year... Visiting Incheon New Port, 2nd in Container Throughput

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The view of Incheon New Port Seongoashin Container Terminal. 2024.1.2. Photo by Kang Hee-jong

On the afternoon of the 2nd, I visited Sunkwangshin Container Terminal at Incheon New Port in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. Above the yard densely packed with containers, container cranes called ARMGs (Automated Rail Mounted Gantry) were moving incessantly. ARMGs are cranes that move automatically along rails from side to side to transfer containers. The container cranes are remotely controlled from the remote control center on the 6th floor of the office building right next to the terminal. Jung Guk-wi, CEO of Sunkwangshin Container Terminal, said, "Currently, 70% of the yard, which can load 44,000 TEU (1 TEU is the size of one 20-foot container), is occupied."

On this first working day of the new year, Incheon New Port was bustling with numerous trucks carrying containers coming and going. The yard was so tightly packed with containers that there was no space to spare. Incheon Port is the second-largest container port in South Korea after Busan. Geographically, it serves as a key foothold for exports and imports to and from China and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region. It is said that a container ship departing at 7 a.m. arrives at a North China port in 11 hours, by 6 p.m.

The day before, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that South Korea's exports reached a record high of $683.8 billion last year. By the third quarter of last year, South Korea's global export ranking rose two places from 8th in 2023 to 6th. However, there is little time to celebrate the record export performance as a gloomy outlook for this year is pouring in.

On this day, the Ministry of Economy and Finance projected the economic growth rate for 2025 at 1.8%, down 0.4 percentage points (P) from 2.2% six months ago. The main reason cited was the decline in exports. The government expects the export growth rate this year to remain at 1.5%, significantly lower than the 8.2% growth rate in 2024. Competition in key industries such as semiconductors is intensifying, and the shift in U.S. trade policy following the inauguration of the second Trump administration adds uncertainty to South Korean exports.

However, Incheon New Port still showed no signs of concern over export stagnation and was full of vitality. CEO Jung forecasted, "We handled 1.12 million TEU last year, and we expect to handle 1.13 million TEU this year." The maximum capacity that Sunkwangshin Container Terminal can handle annually is 1.2 million TEU. It is expected to operate almost at full capacity again this year following last year. Here, containers can be loaded onto container ships of up to 16,000 TEU.

Incheon Port consists of Incheon New Port, North Port, Inner Port, South Port, and hinterland complexes. Incheon New Port houses Sunkwangshin Container Terminal and Hanjin Incheon Container Terminal. The Incheon Port Authority, which manages Incheon Port, plans to expand container piers in response to increasing cargo volume. They are constructing the 1-2 phase container pier at Incheon New Port with an investment of 670 billion KRW, aiming for completion in 2027. As of 2024, Incheon Port surpassed 3.5 million TEU in container throughput. The plan is to expand throughput to 5.5 million TEU by 2035.

A field that the Incheon Port Authority has recently been particularly focusing on is used car exports. Kim Young-guk, Director of Planning and Management at Incheon Port Authority, explained, "As of 2023, 500,000 used cars were exported, generating an export effect of 6 trillion KRW," and added, "We are currently building a Smart Auto Valley in the South Port to handle used car exports in a one-stop process." Director Kim requested government policy support and interest in used car exports.

Minister An Deok-geun of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, who visited Incheon New Port, is inspecting Seongwang New Container Terminal. 2025.1.2. Photo by Kang Hee-jong

On this day, as his first field visit of the new year, An Deok-geun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, visited Incheon New Port and emphasized that he would provide full support so that exports can serve as a driving force for the Korean economy.

Minister An said, "Uncertainties in external trade conditions will remain due to global high interest rates, high exchange rates, and the inauguration of the new Trump administration," and explained that the government will supply a record-high 360 trillion KRW in trade finance to secure liquidity for export companies and provide an unprecedented 2.9 trillion KRW in support for export activities such as overseas exhibitions, trade delegations, and export consultations. To Lee Kyung-gyu, President of Incheon Port Authority, he said, "The first quarter is the export lean season," and added, "I will propose to the Deputy Prime Minister to ensure the government provides maximum support."