• The Incheon Port Authority (www.icpa.or.kr, President Lee Kyung-Gyu) announced on August 1st that the number of cars exported from Incheon Port in the first half of this year significantly increased by 44.4% compared to the same period last year, reaching 367,192 units.

   

• According to IPA, within this figure, the number of used cars exported totaled 234,614 while the number of new cars was 132,578, indicating an increase of 56.9% and 26.6%, respectively, compared to the corresponding period last year.

• The export of used cars in the first half of this year reached a remarkable total of 234,614 units, which is 19.9% higher than the 195,656 units exported in the first half of 2019, setting a new record for the highest export volume for the first half of the year.

• The monthly used car export figures at Incheon Port displayed a notable trajectory. In May 2021, the port recorded an all-time high of 47,415 units. Subsequently, it saw a decline to a record low of 18,920 units in June of the last year. However, an impressive resurgence followed, with June of this year marking the second-highest monthly export volume ever, at 46,093 units.

• Korea's annual used car exports exhibited remarkable growth over the years – surpassing 10,000 units in 1993, 100,000 units in 2001, 300,000 units in 2004, and 400,000 units in 2019. Incheon Port managed over 89.5% of all used car exports from Korea in 2019, and in the first half of this year, it accounted for 76.3% of the total car export volume.

• In the first half of the year, the top five countries in terms of the share of used cars exported from Incheon Port are as follows: Libya (26.4%), Türkiye (11.1%), Egypt (10.9%), Jordan (7.1%), and Kyrgyzstan (5.9%).

• There are two main methods for shipping used vehicles from Incheon Port. The first one involves loading them onto a car carrier within the inner port, while the other entails placing them into containers, which are then loaded onto container ships at the container terminal located in the New Port or South Port.

• According to customs data, the first half of this year saw 50,841 used cars shipped on car carrier vessels, and a substantial 183,773 used cars shipped on container vessels. This shift towards containerization in used car exports is attributed to a significant decline in container freight rates* at the end of last year.

* Container Freight Rates: The representative container freight index is the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI). SCFI has been reflecting spot freight rates on 15 routes in the Shanghai export container transportation market since December 7, 2005.

** SCFI: ‘22.1.7. 5,109.6 → ‘22.2.11. 4,980.93 → ‘22.7.22. 3,996.77 → ‘22.9.2. 2,847.62 → ‘22.9.30. 1,922.95 → ‘23.2.10. 995.16 → ‘23.7.21. 966.45

• IPA is committed to enhancing port services by implementing the following measures ▴Increasing the number of voyages for the Far East - Middle East Service (FAM) that was launched in June this year, ▴Expanding new container route services, and ▴Monitoring the current status of used car exports and addressing any inconveniences in the export and logistics processes.

   

  * Voyages: Refers to the number of times a shipping vessel calls at port. Currently, the Far East - Middle East Service (FAM) is making a port call at Incheon Port once every 2 weeks (14 days), with a frequency of 0.5 times per week.

• Kim Soon-Cheol, acting Vice President of the Operations Department at Incheon Port Authority, emphasized, "This year's container cargo volume depended heavily on used car exports and related cargo." He added, "In the medium to long term, we aim to seamlessly establish a Smart Auto Valley for the expansion and stability of used car exports, as well as to explore a range of cargo items that can boost the overall cargo volume at Incheon Port."