You are here: Home / Archives for Trade News

Exports in June Increased 4.3% Year-on-Year, Recovering Growth for the First Time

July 21, 2025 by Leave a Comment
https://korean-machinery.com///inquiry

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) recently announced the export and import trends for June: exports in June amounted to $59.8 billion, up 4.3% from the same month last year; while imports amounted to $50.72 billion, up 3.3% from the previous year.
Despite the impact of U.S. tariffs, semiconductors, a key flagship product, recorded the highest performance ever, while automobile exports also achieved the highest performance ever in June, leading overall exports.
Monthly exports increased for 15 consecutive months from October 2023 compared to the same month last year, but then decreased in January this year. After increasing for three consecutive months, they fell in May, but recovered growth again in just one month.
The largest export item, semiconductors, increased 11.6% from last year to $14.97 billion (approximately KRW 20.2 trillion), rewriting the record for the highest performance ever.

Monthly semiconductor exports slightly decreased (-3%) in February, but have been increasing for four consecutive months since March, thanks to solid demand for high-value products such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and the upward trend in fixed prices.
Automobile exports increased by 2.3% to $6.3 billion. This is the highest performance ever in June. Exports to the USA decreased due to the impact of U.S. tariffs, but exports to the European Union (EU) increased and used car exports increased significantly, leading to the overall increase.
Looking at exports by major country, exports to both the United States and China, the two largest export markets, showed a decrease. Exports to the United States, directly affected by the ‘Trump tariffs,’ decreased by 0.5% year-on-year to $11.24 billion, and exports to China also decreased by 2.7% to $10.42 billion.
Total exports in the first half of this year (January to June) amounted to $334.7 billion, down 0.03% year-on-year, similar to last year. However, the trade balance showed a surplus of $27.8 billion, an improvement of $4.8 billion from last year. It is evaluated that this was relatively good despite the influence of the U.S. tariffs.
The trade balance in June recorded a surplus of $9.08 billion, the largest since September 2018.

 
korean-machinery.com | Blog Magazine of korean-machinery, brands and Goods

Filed Under: Trade News Tagged With:

Exports of Semiconductors Record the Highest-Ever Level

June 23, 2025 by Leave a Comment
https://korean-machinery.com///inquiry

Other key export items, however, decreased in May

Korea’s exports in May turned downward for the first time in four months. While exports of semiconductors, a key product, recorded the highest level ever in May, exports of key items such as automobiles and petrochemical products decreased. Exports to the USA and China, Korea’s two largest markets, both decreased by 8%.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), total exports in May amounted to $57.27 billion, down 1.3% from a year ago. This is the first time in four months that monthly exports have decreased compared to the same month last year since January (-10.1%).
Out of the 15 major export items, 10 items saw a decrease in exports. Steel and automobile exports to the United States, which are subject to a 25% tariff, decreased by 12.4% and 4.4%, respectively, compared to the previous year. During this period, exports of petroleum products and petrochemical products decreased by 20.9% and 20.8%, respectively. This is the result of the sharp drop in prices of both items due to the low oil price trend that has continued since the inauguration of the Trump administration in the United States.

Looking at Korea’s exports by region, they decreased in all seven of the nine major markets except for the European Union (EU) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Exports to China decreased by 8.4% year-on-year to $10.4 billion due to a drop in exports of semiconductors and petrochemicals, the largest export items. Exports to the USA, where the impact of reciprocal and product tariffs started to be felt in earnest, also decreased by 8.1% to $10 billion during this period.
Despite the sluggish export performance by item and region, the total export decrease was limited to 1% because semiconductors, the largest export item, showed a record-breaking performance. In May, semiconductor exports surged by 21.2% year-on-year to $13.79 billion. This is the third consecutive month of double-digit growth and the largest May performance ever.
“In the case of semiconductors, the export of high value-added memory such as high bandwidth memory (HBM) and double data rate 5 (DDR5) continued to be brisk, while fixed prices also showed an upward trend,” explained a spokesperson for MOTIE.
Exports of wireless communication devices (3.9%), such as smartphones, bio-health (4.5%), and ships (4.3%) also increased.


 
korean-machinery.com | Blog Magazine of korean-machinery, brands and Goods

Filed Under: Trade News Tagged With:

Growing Prospects for Korean Drone Companies to Enter the U.S. Market

June 23, 2025 by Leave a Comment
https://korean-machinery.com///inquiry

KOTRA and the Korea Institute of Aviation Safety Technology (KIAST) recently announced that they were hosting a Korean Pavilion at the world’s largest unmanned mobility exhibition ‘Xponential 2025’ held in Houston, USA from May 19 to 22, and held export consultation meetings for Korean companies seeking to enter the U.S. market.
KOTRA focused on expanding local partnerships and promoting technology at this event through the Korean pavilion exhibition booths, export consultation meetings, and PR center operation. A total of 11 Korean companies participated, conducted 191 consultations, and signed 15 on-site MOUs, thereby expanding opportunities for cooperation with global drone companies.
Xponential is the world’s largest unmanned mobility exhibition hosted by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), and is held annually in major cities in the United States.

 More than 7,500 persons from 60 countries participated in this year’s event, and it was a venue to share the latest technologies and industry trends such as drones, military unmanned vehicles, and autonomous driving systems. In addition to booth exhibitions, Xponential provided opportunities for cooperation and information exchanges among industries through various programs such as technology conferences and panel discussions.
The drone industry market size in the United States is worth approximately $12.1 billion as of 2024, and is expected to grow by an average of 9.2% annually to $17.2 billion by 2028 due to recent increases in demand. The U.S. government plans to invest more than $4 billion in research and development (R&D) and demonstration projects in the unmanned mobility field, including drones, and is also preparing regulations and policies to strengthen national security.

In particular, the U.S. Congress has recently been proposing bills (the Security Drone Act and the China Drone Response Act) to restrict the import of Chinese drones for reasons of national security. Accordingly, the proportion of Chinese imports, which reached 85% in 2023, has decreased to less than 30% as of the first quarter of 2025.
Amid these changes, imports from third countries such as Vietnam and Switzerland are increasing, and it is expected that Korea’s drone companies will now have more opportunities to enter the U.S. market.

korean-machinery.com | Blog Magazine of korean-machinery, brands and Goods

Filed Under: Trade News Tagged With:

Korea Achieves $58.21 Billion Worth of Exports in April

May 16, 2025 by Leave a Comment
https://korean-machinery.com///inquiry

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), Korea’s exports continued to grow for three consecutive months amid changes in the trade landscape, led by the United States. Last month’s exports were the highest-ever for April. They increased by $370 million from the previous record of $57.84 billion in April 2022.
Imports in April were $53.32 billion, down 2.7% year-on-year. The trade balance thus recorded a surplus of $4.88 billion.
The export boom was led by semiconductors, the largest export item. Semiconductor exports recorded the highest-ever April performance, at $11.7 billion, as the fixed price of DRAM (DDR4 8Gb) rebounded for the first time in 12 months since April 2024, and high value-added memory exports such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) continued to boom. This is a 17.2% increase compared to the same month last year.
Wireless communication device exports also continued to increase for the third consecutive month, recording $1.5 billion, up 26.5%, led by smartphone exports ($400 million, +61.1%).
Bio-health exports increased 14.6% year-on-year to $1.4 billion. Bio-pharmaceutical exports ($900 million, +21.8%) increased significantly.
Steel exports turned positive for the first time in four months, increasing by 5.4% to $3 billion. Secondary battery exports also broke the 16-month negative trend since December 2023, increasing by 13.7% to $700 million. Ship exports also increased by 17.3% to $2 billion, increasing for two consecutive months.
On the other hand, automobile exports, one of the largest export items, decreased by 3.8%. However, the export volume ($6.5 billion) achieved the highest performance this year.
Agricultural, fishery, and food product exports achieved the highest-ever performance for all months, reaching $1.1 billion, thanks to the growing K-food craze.
By region, exports increased in seven out of the nine major markets.

Exports to China increased by 3.9% year-on-year to $10.9 billion. While semiconductor exports rebounded, after being in a negative trend this year, exports of wireless communication devices increased by double digits, leading to the overall increase in exports.
Exports to ASEAN increased by 4.5% to $9.4 billion, due to brisk exports of semiconductors and steels.
Exports to the EU achieved the highest-ever performance of $6.7 billion (+18.4%) in the entire period, with double-digit growth rates in automobile and bio-health exports.

Exports to the United States decreased by 6.8% year-on-year to $10.6 billion. Exports of petroleum products, secondary batteries, and wireless communication devices showed brisk growth, but exports of two major items, automobiles and general machinery, decreased.
Imports in April decreased by 2.7% to $53.32 billion. Energy imports amounted to $10 billion, down 20.1% year-on-year. Imports other than energy, including semiconductor equipment (+18.2%), increased by 2.4% to $43.4 billion.
Korea’s trade balance in April recorded a surplus of $4.88 billion, up $3.6 billion year-on-year. The cumulative trade balance from January to April this year was $12.2 billion, an increase of $2.3 billion over the same period of last year.


korean-machinery.com | Blog Magazine of korean-machinery, brands and Goods

Filed Under: Trade News Tagged With:

Korea’s Exports Continue to Grow Noticeably

April 22, 2025 by Leave a Comment
https://korean-machinery.com///inquiry

Indicating that the nation’s export items are gaining increasing popularity

Last March, Korea’s exports amounted to $58.28 billion, up 3.1% year-on-year. The export of semiconductors, the nation’s largest export product, recorded an amount close to the highest-ever March performance, while automobile exports also continued to increase, leading the export performance in March.
Semiconductor exports amounted to $13.1 billion, up 11.9% year-on-year. This is attributable to the strong demand for high value-added items such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and DDR5 used in the artificial intelligence (AI) and data center industries. Semiconductor exports exceeded $10 billion for nine consecutive months until January, increasing for 15 consecutive months compared to the same period last year, but turned to a decline in February.

Exports of computers ($1.2 billion, 33.1%) and wireless communication devices ($1.3 billion, 13.8%) also increased for two consecutive months, showing an increase in exports across all IT items. Display exports also increased by 2.9% to $1.5 billion, breaking the seven-month negative flows that had continued since August last year.
Automobile exports increased by 1.2% year-on-year to $6.2 billion. However, exports of electric vehicles (EVs) decreased significantly due to the global chasm (temporary stagnation in demand) for EVs; but exports of hybrid vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles increased, leading to an increase in overall exports.
Ship exports increased by 51.6% year-on-year to $3.2 billion. This is the highest performance in 15 months since December 2023 ($3.7 billion). However, exports of steel (-10.6%) and petroleum products (-28.1%) decreased significantly.
By country, exports to China were recorded at $10.1 billion, down 4.1% year-on-year. It was analyzed that the decrease in semiconductor exports had a major impact. Exports to the United States increased by 2.3% to $11.1 billion.


 
 
korean-machinery.com | Blog Magazine of korean-machinery, brands and Goods

Filed Under: Trade News Tagged With:

Korea’s January Exports

February 21, 2025 by Leave a Comment
https://korean-machinery.com///inquiry

Korea’s January Exports Decreased by Over 10%
Semiconductor exports continued to perform well, achieving over US$10 billion for nine consecutive months.

Due to the early Lunar New Year holiday and other factors, Korea’s January exports decreased by more than 10%, and the 15-month consecutive ‘export plus’ streak came to a halt.
The main product, semiconductor exports, continued to perform well, achieving over $10 billion for nine consecutive months, but automobile exports, which were largely affected by the decrease in operating days, fell by nearly 20%.

The January export amount totaled $49.12 billion, down 10.3% from the same month last year.
Korea’s exports turned positive in October 2023 compared to the same month the previous year, and continued to record positive growth for 15 consecutive months until December last year, but this positive trend ceased in January 2025.
Looking at the trends of the 15 main export items, excluding the two items that are the largest export items, namely, semiconductors and computers, exports of 13 items decreased compared to last year. However, based on the daily average exports, the exports of 10 items increased.
Semiconductor exports in January increased by 8.1% from last year to $10.1 billion, recording the second highest January performance after 2022 ($10.8 billion).
Semiconductor exports recorded more than $10 billion for nine consecutive months, continuing the year-on-year export plus trend for 15 consecutive months.
Despite the seasonal decrease in demand for information technology (IT) products and the decline in general memory prices, the semiconductor export boom continued as demand for high value-added memory products such as high bandwidth memory (HBM) and DDR5 remained strong due to the artificial intelligence (AI) craze.
Computer item exports, including solid state drives (SSDs), also increased by 14.8% to $800 million, continuing their 13th consecutive month of growth.
Automobile exports, the second largest export item, decreased by 19.6% to $5 billion. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) analyzed that the decrease in the number of operating days was greater than that of other industries as automakers including Hyundai Motors and parts manufacturers designated Friday following the Lunar New Year holiday as an additional holiday.
Amid the global electric vehicle (EV) chasm (temporary stagnation in demand), EV exports decreased by 50.3%, while internal combustion engine vehicle exports also decreased by 20.8%, but hybrid vehicle exports increased by 37.1%, continuing their steady growth. Auto parts exports also decreased by 17.2% to $1.57 billion.


 
korean-machinery.com | Blog Magazine of korean-machinery, brands and Goods

Filed Under: Trade News Tagged With:

Korea’s Exports Last Year Totaled $683.8 Billion, the Highest Ever

January 21, 2025 by Leave a Comment
https://korean-machinery.com///inquiry

Last year’s Korean exports broke an all-time record. Semiconductor exports recorded the highest ever, leading overall exports. Last December’s exports also increased by 6.6%, continuing the 15th consecutive month of positive growth.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) recently released that the nation’s exports in 2024 were tallied at $683.8 billion, up 8.2% from the previous year.
Imports decreased by 1.6% from the previous year to $642.67 billion. The trade balance thus recorded a surplus of $51.8 billion.
Annual exports surpassed the previous record of $683.6 billion achieved in 2022. Daily average exports ($2.53 billion) also surpassed the previous record of $2.51 billion.
MOTIE analyzed that the improved export performance is attributable to the fact that IT items such as semiconductors and consumer goods showed favorable trends evenly in a situation where international oil prices stabilized downward.
Exports of a total of eight out of the 15 major export items increased. Semiconductor exports increased 43.9% year-on-year to $141.9 billion, breaking the previous record of $129.2 billion in 2022.
It is evaluated that the semiconductor exports expanded centered on high value-added items such as DDR5 and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), despite the decline in general memory prices in the fourth quarter of last year, and showed an upward trend toward the end of the year.
Shipbuilding showed an increase of 17.6%, petrochemicals 5.0%, and biohealth 13.1%.
Automobiles recorded $70.8 billion in export sales, a 0.1% decrease year-on-year due to some production disruptions caused by strikes in major automakers and parts companies in the second half of the year, but exceeded $70 billion for the second consecutive year.
Among the nine major export markets, exports to seven regions, including the USA, China, and ASEAN, increased. Exports to the USA increased by 10.5% to $127.8 billion, while exports to China increased by 6.6% to $133 billion. In particular, exports to the USA broke the record for the seventh consecutive year.
December’s exports increased by 6.6% year-on-year to $61.38 billion, while imports during the same period increased by 3.3% to $54.89 billion.
As exports continued to increase for 15 consecutive months, the trade balance recorded a surplus of $6.49 billion, continuing a surplus trend for 19 consecutive months.


 
 
korean-machinery.com | Blog Magazine of korean-machinery, brands and Goods

Filed Under: Trade News Tagged With:

October Exports Hit Highest Level Ever

November 26, 2024 by Leave a Comment
https://korean-machinery.com///inquiry

Semiconductors and automobiles boost Korea’s export drive

Last month, Korea’s exports continued to show positive growth for 13 consecutive months. Exports achieved the highest performance on a monthly basis, and set a ‘highest ever’ record for three consecutive months since August. Last month’s export performance was led by semiconductors and automobiles. Both items recorded the highest performance ever in the same month, leading October’s exports.

Exports to Korea’s two major export markets also showed signs of greater activity. Exports to China increased 10.9% year-on-year to US$12.2 billion, achieving the highest performance in 25 months, while exports to the USA also showed the highest monthly performance of $10.4 billion (+3.4%). In particular, exports to China showed the highest performance of the year in just one month.

According to the ‘October Export and Import Trends’ recently announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), exports last month increased by 4.6% year-on-year to $57.52 billion, surpassing the October 2021 performance ($55.7 billion), and recording the largest export amount in October ever.
Among the 15 major export items, exports of 10 items increased, with the largest export item of semiconductors rising for 12 consecutive months.

Exports of semiconductors, a ‘good-selling item,’ recorded the highest performance in October ever at $12.5 billion (+40.3%), breaking the record for the highest performance in October in six years, compared with $11.6 billion in October 2018. MOTIE analyzed that solid demand for semiconductors will continue, centered on high-value memory, due to new investments in AI servers and increased demand for replacement of general servers.

Computer exports also continued to show a good level of demand compared to the previous year, centered on enterprise SSDs. Computers continued to increase for 10 consecutive months, with a double-digit increase (+54.1%) to $1 billion. Exports of IT items such as wireless communication devices (+19.7%) also increased for eight consecutive months, recording $2 billion.
Automobile exports, the second-largest export item, recorded $6.2 billion, up +5.5% year-on-year.

Automobiles also achieved their highest performance in October, and renewed their monthly highest export performance for the second month in a row.

Automobiles are continuing the ‘new car effect,’ while hybrid car exports are also showing a favorable trend. It is evaluated that the increase was also due to the expansion of production through weekend overtime and overtime work at GM Korea. Automobile parts also recorded $1.9 billion, up 5.9%, and turning positive for the first time in three months, thanks to the favorable export trend.

Steel exports recorded $2.9 billion, up +8.8%, breaking the negative trend of the past eight months and turning positive. Petrochemical exports showed a recovery, recording positive figures for the first time in two months, while textile and home appliance exports recorded positive figures for the first time in three months. Petrochemical exports increased by 10.2% to $4 billion, while textiles and home appliances increased by 2.5% and 5%, respectively.

Petroleum product exports recorded $3.4 billion, down -34.9% year-on-year, due to factors such as a decline in product prices linked to oil prices.

Among the nine major export markets, exports to five countries, including China and the United States, increased. In particular, exports to China recorded $12.2 billion (+10.9%), the highest in 25 months since September 2022, as semiconductor and petrochemical exports increased significantly.

Exports to the United States also recorded $10.4 billion (+3.4%), the highest performance in October ever.
Exports to China have been over $10 billion for eight consecutive months, breaking the record for the highest month of the year in just one month, while exports to the United States have been breaking monthly records for 15 consecutive months.
 
 
korean-machinery.com | Blog Magazine of korean-machinery, brands and Goods

Filed Under: Trade News Tagged With:

Korea’s Exports Showing Continuous Positive Trends

October 25, 2024 by Leave a Comment
https://korean-machinery.com///inquiry

The nation’s September exports increased by 7.5% from the same month last year, continuing the 12-month positive export trend. According to data recently released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), exports recorded the highest performance ever for September and the highest performance this year at US$58.77 bil. The average daily exports in September were recorded at $2.94 bil., increasing by 12.9%.
Among the 15 major export items, the largest increases were in semiconductors, wireless communication devices, computers, automobiles, ships, and bio-health items.
Semiconductor exports, the largest export item, increased by 37.1% to $13.6 billion. These broke the record for the first time in three months since June and continued the 11-month consecutive increase. Computer exports increased by 132% to $1.5 billion, growing for nine consecutive months; and exports of wireless communication devices increased by 19% to $1.9 billion, rising for seven consecutive months.
decrease in the number of operating days (-1.0 days). They turned positive for the first time in four months, achieving the highest performance as of September.
Ship exports increased by 76.2% to $2.4 billion, and the growth rate exceeded 50% for the second consecutive month. Bio-health exports also grew by 9.9% to $1.2 billion, increasing for the third consecutive month.
Exports to China increased by 6.3% to $11.7 billion, the highest performance this year, due to an increase in Korea’s exports of semiconductors and wireless communication devices. The trade balance with China also turned to a surplus ($500 million) for the first time in seven months, thanks to the favorable export trend.
Exports to the United States increased by 3.4% to $10.4 billion, the highest ever in September, and renewing its monthly record for 14 consecutive months.
Exports to the EU increased by 5.1% to $6 billion, with a significant increase in exports of IT items such as wireless communications and computers. It has recorded its highest monthly export record for two consecutive months.


 
korean-machinery.com | Blog Magazine of korean-machinery, brands and Goods

Filed Under: Trade News Tagged With:

Korea’s Exports in August Reach $57.9 Bn

September 26, 2024 by Leave a Comment
https://korean-machinery.com///inquiry

Recording 11th consecutive month of positive growth
Last month’s exports by Korea reached US$57.9 billion, continuing an 11-month upward trend. In particular, semiconductor exports achieved the highest performance ever in August, adding to the momentum. Cumulative exports to China surpassed those to the United States for the first time this year, becoming the largest export destination again.
Recently, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that exports last month increased 11.4% year-on-year to $57.9 billion, while imports increased 6% to $54.07 billion. The positive trade balance thus reached $3.83 billion, continuing to show a surplus for 15 consecutive months.
By sector, semiconductor exports increased 38.8% year-on-year to $11.9 billion, showing a positive trend for the 4th consecutive month of over $11 billion. Computer exports increased 183% to $1.5 billion, a triple-digit increase. Wireless communication device exports also increased by 54% to $1.8 billion.

Automobile exports decreased by 4.3% to $5.1 billion, however, due to the modernization of some companies’ production lines and the decrease in operating rates due to wage and group negotiations ― but ship exports increased by 80% to $2.8 billion, turning positive for the first time in three months.
By region, eight out of nine major markets showed favorable trends. The region with the largest exports by Korea was China, which recorded $11.4 billion ― up 7.9% due to the improved business conditions in the information and communication technology (IT) industry.
Exports to China reached $86.2 billion from January to August this year, surpassing exports to the United States during the same period, emerging as the largest export country.
Exports to the USA increased by 15.5% to $84.7 billion due to favorable market trends in IT items such as semiconductors and computers.


korean-machinery.com | Blog Magazine of korean-machinery, brands and Goods

Filed Under: Trade News Tagged With:
«Previous Page
Next Page»