Korean trucker strike escalates, port throughput numbers slide

Korean trucker strike escalates, port throughput numbers slide
Sam Chambers June 10, 2022 https://splash247.com/korean-trucker-strike-escalates-port-throughput-nu...

An escalating strike by truckers belonging to the Cargo Truckers Solidarity union in South Korea is having a very significant effect on port volumes at Asia’s fourth largest economy this week.

Into its fourth day, the strike movement aimed today to prevent raw materials getting to semiconductor and petrochemical plants, while also targeting container movements with many roads blocked.

At Busan port, which accounts for 80% of the country’s container activity, traffic was down to a third of normal levels on Friday, a government official said.

At Incheon port, it has fallen to 20% of normal levels while at the port for Ulsan, the industrial hub where much of the strike action has occurred, container traffic has been completely suspended since Tuesday.

The union said a meeting with the government on Friday ended without an agreement on better pay and they would meet again on Saturday.