Transshiped Freight from Sea Hits Record at Incheon Airport

Incheon International Airport today released analysis result of its 2023 Sea-Air freight throughput. The volume was 98,560 tons, up 43% compared to 68,870 tons in the previous year, reaching an all-time high since the Airport’s opening.

99.6% of the transshipped cargo came from China, unloaded at west coast ports of South Korea, to reach the world through Incheon Airport. For this transport, the forte of Incheon Airport is the proximity to China and its hub network connecting 183 cities.

It seems likely that the transshiped traffic will continue to boost cargo volume of Incheon Airport. Chinese e-commerce is soaring. The bulk of the cargo consists of e-commerce products departing from China’s northeastern region. Weihai City, only about 400 km(25miles) away from Korea, has been designated by the Chinese government as an E-commerce Logistics Zone, and is one of China’s key export gates; with encouragement by national policy, much of outbound e-commerce cargo aggregates to this point before shipping.

When choosing a sea port, the industry takes into consideration transfer time, distance to Incheon Airport, and capacity. In Korea, for this multimodal volume Gunsan Port(40%) was the busiest, followed by Incheon Port(38%) and Pyeongtek Port(22%). In 2022, Incheon Port was the busiest.

The final destinations are mostly far-distance with North America comprising 47% and Europe 31%. Many logistics companies are making most of schedule variety for both passenger-and cargo flights at Incheon Airport and its network, choosing the China-Korea-America/Europe route for shipments. 

Incheon Airport Corporation plans to post duration and cost from each port to Incheon Airport on a quarterly basis for seamless Sea-Air connectivity.

LEE Hag Jae, CEO of Incheon International Airport Corporation, says “For raising cargo volume, we need to tap intently into overseas cargo markets, especially as domestic growth is slower than in the past,” adding, “Incheon Airport plans to strengthen its route network not only in aviation but with various modes of transportation like the sea, to become a stronger global logistics hub.”