[ C.T Volume Shipped by National Flag Carriers to Increase ]

Seaborne container trade volume to/from Korea continues to show a gain
sharply.
According to the statistics compiled by Korea Shipowners’ Association
(KSA), the container trade volume, as of the end of April of this yea
r, totalled 119,816,000 tons for a 11.5 percent rise as compared to 10
7,458,000 tons in the same period of last year.
Of that volume, container export volume amounted to 23,744,000 tons, u
p 13.4 percent over the 20,942,000 tons in 1993, and container import
volume 96,072,000 tons, up 11.0 percent over 86,516,000 tons.
Concerning the trade volume by area, South East Asia accounting for mo
re than 25.9 percent of total trade stood first with 30,984,000 tons f
or 6.4 percent rise over in 1993.
Middle East amounted to 30,780,000 tons(up 11.5 percent) and North Ame
rica to 20,008,000 tons (up 10.5 percent). Africa to/from Korea repres
ents 47.7 percent growth though it brought up the rear in its volume.
On the contrary, South America recorded 5,678,000 tons, down 7.1 perce
nt compared to same period of previous year.
Meanwhile, the container trade volume handled by Korean flag vessels r
ecorded 32,541,000 tons (27.2 percent) for a 4.3 percent increase as c
ompared to 32,541,000 tons in 1993 while the share of the volume reduc
ed by 19.0 percent. The cargo handling performance of Korean flag ship
ping companies including chartering vessel also recorded 51,093,000 to
ns, up 11.0 percent over 55,041,000 tons in the same period of last ye
ar.