S. Korea`s Feb. container trading plunges amid downturn

SEOUL, March 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's trading volume of containers plunged in
February from a year earlier, affected by the global economic downturn, a
government report showed Friday.
According to the report by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs,
container trading amounted to 1,081 20-foot equivalent units, or TEU, last month,
down 19.6 percent from the same period a year earlier.
This marked the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year declines since November,
the report showed. The contraction is attributed to the protracted global
economic downturn.
During the first two months of 2009, cumulative container trading declined 19.9
percent to 2,246 TEU, the report showed.
Busan, the nation's largest port city, saw its trading volume drop 19 percent to
1,708 TEU during that period, while Gwangyang and Incheon posted contractions of
16.1 percent and 34.1 percent, respectively.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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