S. Korea's cargo handling at seaports grows 14.7 pct in Sept.

SEOUL (Yonhap) - Container cargo processed at South Korea's seaports rose 14.7 percent on-year last month on growth of both trade and transshipment cargo, the government said Friday.
The amount of cargo through the ports reached 1.76 million 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs), compared with 1.54 million TEUs handled in the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs. The September figure, however, was slightly less than the 1.8 million TEUs processed at the country's seaports in August.
The ministry attributed the on-year expansion to robust trade as well as the growing awareness of South Korea as a transportation hub.
The amount of import-export cargo rose 6.9 percent on-year to a little more than 1.05 million TEUs in September, recovering from a 0.5 percent drop the previous month.
The amount of transshipment cargo, or cargo handled en route to a different final destination, surged 28.4 percent to 673,000 TEUs, the ministry said.
"Trade cargo grew despite concerns of a global economic slowdown as China (South Korea's major trade partner) continues to show strong growth while transshipment also recorded double-digit growth for the seventh straight month," the ministry said in a press release. "The growth momentum is expected to continue in the fourth quarter."
By port, cargo handled at the country's largest seaport of Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, surged 17 percent on-year to nearly 1.33 million TEUs.
The amount of cargo processed at Gwangyang port, 420 kilometers south of Seoul, rose 2 percent to 164,000 TEUs, posting a positive growth for the first time since May when an injection of new ships to the port by shipping companies began directing significant volumes to other ports.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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