Korea's air cargo traffic slipped 1.4 percent from a year earlier in the first six months of the year due to decreased import-export shipments, the government said Tuesday.
The country's air cargo shipments amounted to about 1.72 million tons in the January-June period, compared with 1.74 million tons a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
The drop came solely from a decrease in the volume of international cargo, which shrank 2 percent on-year to some 1.57 million tons.
"In case of international cargo, the slowdown of Chinese and U.S. economies along with persistent effects of the European financial crisis led to a drop in air cargo," the ministry said in a press release.
Domestic cargo transportation via air, on the other hand, climbed 5.9 percent on-year to some 143,000 tons.
By region, shipments to Southeast Asia and the Middle East gained 2.9 percent and 16 percent from a year earlier, respectively, while the volume of air cargo to and from China and the United States slipped 8.2 percent and 7 percent each.
The ministry said air cargo traffic was expected to shrink again in the second half partly due to the European financial woes that have led to a "significant drop in global demand for IT products and mobile phones." (Yonhap)