South Korea’s Busan Port reported that cargo throughput in April 2015 went up year-over-year, further boosting traffic that has been robust since the start of the year.
The Busan Port Authority (BPA) said the port handled 1.642 million twenty foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in April this year, an increase of 3.5% year-over-year.
From January to April, the largest maritime hub in the country moved 6.468 million TEUs, a 7.1% spike compared to the same period the preceding year.
BPA said the higher container volume at Busan Port is due mainly to the increase in transshipment cargo. The port set a record in monthly transshipment cargo handled last March 2015, when boxes exceeded 1.63 million TEUs.
During the first four months of 2015, import and export cargo registered 3.115 million TEUs and transshipment cargo reached 3.352 million TEUs, for respective improvements of 4.1% and 10% year-over-year.
Transshipment cargo accounted for about 52% of the total cargo volume, according to BPA.
As of April 2015, the country’s biggest transshipment cargo partners was led by China with 1.039 million TEUs, followed by Japan with 477,427 TEUs, U.S. with 473,719 million TEUs, and Europe with 179,775 million TEUs. China, U.S., and Europe saw their transshipments go up year-over-year by 14.1%, 10.4%, and 10.9%, respectively. Transshipments from Japan fell 3.1%.
Meanwhile the cargo-handling ratio between Busan New Port and Busan North Port as of April was 65:35 from 64:36 last year. Cargo volume at Busan North Port increased to 2.228 million TEUs, up 4.2% year-over-year, while New Port processed 4.239 million TEUs for an 8.7% expansion.
The BPA said it will continue to lift cargo volume at Busan Port by creating high-added value through invigorating Distripark, the free economic zone at New Port, and engaging in diverse marketing activities for consignors, shipping companies, and forwarders.
