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The volume of cargo handled at South Korean seaports fell by 4.8% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, due to continued uncertainty in the global trade environment stemming from ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
According to the South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the amount of goods handled at the country's port facilities totaled 375.95 million tons during the April-June period, a figure lower than the 394.99 million tons recorded in the same period last year.
Of the total, export and import cargo amounted to 318.01 million tons during the quarter, representing a 5.6% decrease compared to the previous year.
However, containerized cargo processed at the ports increased by 0.6% year-on-year, reaching 8.32 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in the second quarter.
Of these, 4.5 million TEU corresponded to export and import cargo, a decrease of 0.9% compared to the previous year.
Shipments to and from the Middle East plummeted by 54.6% during the aforementioned period, while shipments to and from the United States and Vietnam fell by 9% and 7.6%, respectively. On the other hand, shipments to and from China and Japan increased by 7.7% and 1.5%, respectively. Transshipment volume rose by 2.2% year-on-year, reaching 3.78 million TEU.
By port, Busan processed 6.46 million TEU of cargo in the second quarter, up 0.5% from a year ago, while the Incheon terminal handled 900,000 TEU, an increase of 1.9%.
The Ministry of Oceans attributed the quarterly decline in cargo handling to persistent uncertainties caused by the conflict in the Middle East, which are affecting the global logistics and energy market.
