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According to Yonhap News,

(SEOUL=Yonhap News) Cargo processed at South Korean ports increased in May compared with a year earlier as shipments of vehicles and grains rose on strong demand, government data showed Thursday.

The total volume of sea cargo reached 142.38 million tons last month, advancing 8.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

Shipments of grains jumped 55 percent on-year, and those of vehicles and machinery increased 30 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

In contrast, shipments of sand tumbled 52 percent, while steel and cement decreased 22.9 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

The import and export freight gained 3.4 percent to 1.44 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) as shipments to major trading partners increased. Transshipment advanced 96 percent to 1.03 TEUs.

By country, shipments to China, the South Korea's largest trading partner, inched up 0.9 percent, while those to the United States gained 2 percent last month, helped by brisk exports of memory chips and petrochemical products.

The Port of Busan, South Korea's maritime gateway on the southeastern coast, handled 44.13 million tons of cargo last month, followed by the southwestern port of Gwangyang with 25.12 million tons and Ulsan on the southeastern coast with 17.05 million tons, the data showed.

ejkim@yna.co.kr

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Source Text

** This article was translated from Korean.

Source: Yonhap News (June 28, 2018)