Strike in South Korea continues to deteriorate, ports daily throughput drops sharply

It is reported that the nationwide strike by thousands of truck drivers in South Korea has lasted for seven days. The country's port operations have slowed down, daily throughput has dropped significantly, cargo transportation in major industries including automobiles, steel, cement, and IT components has been delayed or canceled, some factories have suspended production.

Daily container throughput at 12 South Korean ports fell by 64% last Thursday compared to the May average, according to South Korea's Ministry of Transport.

▪Daily throughput at the world's seventh-busiest container port, Busan, fell by two-thirds from normal on Friday and fell to a quarter of its level a month earlier on Sunday;

▪ Incheon, another major South Korean port, saw an 80% drop in container traffic;

▪ Container traffic at the port of Ulsan, South Korea's main industrial center and the main site of the strike, has been halted since last Tuesday, and Hyundai has a production plant there;

▪ Deliveries at Pohang and Daesan ports also fell to zero, and shipments of steel and petrochemicals were affected.

South Korea's transport ministry said as many as 7,500 drivers, or a third of the truck drivers' union, were expected to take part in the strike on Friday. The union said the actual number of strikers was higher, with non-union truck drivers also opting to suspend work. South Korea's 31 industry associations issued a joint statement on Sunday urging truck drivers to end their strikes and return to work as bottlenecks in industries such as cement, petrochemicals, steel, automobiles and IT components are intensifying.

In addition, South Korean President Yoon Seok-wook told reporters on Friday that the government should remain neutral on labor issues so that companies and unions can increase their ability to solve problems, according to Bloomberg.

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