South Korea's Intra-Asia Container Trade Sees Nearly 6% Drop in August, while Malaysia Bucks the Trend with Strong Growth

Container ship (Photo: Ronsped / Phaata)

According to the published figures, South Korea's total container volume on Intra-Asia routes fell by 5.9% year-on-year in August, reaching just 345,300 TEUs.

This downturn was primarily driven by a sharp decrease in import activities. Specifically, while containerized exports saw a modest 2% increase to 164,700 TEUs, inbound container volumes plummeted by a significant 12%, down to 180,500 TEUs.

A detailed market-by-market analysis reveals that this decline in volume was widespread across most trade lanes, with the notable exception of Malaysia. Vietnam, despite remaining the largest trading partner, also experienced a 7% reduction in throughput, with volumes totaling 117,400 TEUs. Other major markets followed suit, including Indonesia, which saw a 12% drop (to 47,600 TEUs), and Thailand, down by 11% (to 45,700 TEUs).

The negative trend extended to other economies as well. Taiwan (China) recorded an 8% decrease (31,300 TEUs), the Philippines suffered the steepest decline at 17% (21,800 TEUs), while both Hong Kong (China) and Singapore saw an 8% fall, with volumes dropping to 17,000 TEUs and 15,600 TEUs, respectively.

The sole bright spot in the August trade landscape was Malaysia. In a reversal of the general trend, containerized exports from South Korea to Malaysia surged by an impressive 25%, reaching 48,600 TEUs. This remarkable growth has propelled Malaysia to become the second-largest destination in South Korea's Intra-Asia container trade.

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Source: Phaata.com (According to Container-News)

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