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Incheon port box throughput rises 8.8% in first half

Incheon port box throughput rises 8.8% in first half
South Korea’s Incheon port has moved higher container throughput in the first half of 2016 compared to the year-ago period, according to Incheon Port Authority (IPA).

Box volumes in the first six months at Incheon port rose to 1.24m teu, up 8.8% year-on-year, figures from the port authority showed.

The quantity of containers handled at the port has been showing an annual 5.9% increase on average since 2013 when it first surpassed the mark of 1m teu by recording 1.04m teu in the first half of that year.

“The Hanjin Incheon Container Terminal (HJIT) opened this year in Incheon New Port, leading to a high rise in the container shipments. In particular, the growth of shipment volume in July soared, which is likely to drive the shipment to reach 1.5m teu early August,” said Yoo Chang-kuen, president of IPA.

Most of Incheon port’s container volumes are driven by seaborne trade with neighbouring China, which accounted for 732,953 teu of throughput in the first half. Vietnam is another significant trade partner which accounted for 105,182 teu.

IPA believed that volumes brought about by China and Vietnam are expected to continue increasing due to the free trade agreements signed last year with the two Asian countries.