South Korean ports sees 22% increase in April box volumes

South Korea ports handled 1.64 million TEUs of containers in April, an increase of 21.9% compared to a year ago, according to official data.

The total number of cargoes handled also increased 10.7% from a year earlier to over 95 million metric tonnes (mt), according to the data released by the Korean Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.

The increase has been laregly attributed to an improvement in trade.

The total number of cargoes handled in April 2010 represent only a 0.7% decrease from that of April 2008, indicating that cargo handling has nearly rebounded to its pre-financial crisis level, Yonhap reported.