Korea's seaport handling falls 2 pct in Sept.

SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- The volume of shipments processed at South Korea's
trading seaports fell 2 percent in September from a year earlier amid a global
economic slowdown, a report showed Sunday.

According to the report by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs,
the volume of shipments handled at the nation's seaports amounted to 92.84
million tons in September, compared with 94.72 million tons a year earlier.
Busan, the nation's largest port city, saw its handling volume drop 5.2 percent,
while Gwangyang posted a 5 percent contraction over the same period. Pohang and
Ulsan, however, posted expansions of 2.1 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively,
according to the report.
The pace of the decline in shipping volume seems to have eased in recent months.
The September contraction was the slowest since last December, when seaport
handling plunged 12 percent annually, and was also better than a 6.9 percent
contraction in August, the report showed.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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