Countdown to '$1 Trillion in Exports'... On Track to Surpass Mark on the 20th

Cumulative exports through the 10th reached $963.7 billion
Exports averaged $4.46 billion a day
Expected to top $1.001573 trillion on the 20th

South Korea's annual exports are expected to surpass $1 trillion for the first time ever around the 20th of next week. Cumulative exports through the 10th stood at $963.7 billion. Given that exports averaged more than $4.4 billion a day from the 1st to the 10th of this month, the country is on track to surpass $1 trillion on the 20th. So far, only three countries—the United States, China and Germany—have recorded annual exports exceeding $1 trillion.

According to the Korea Customs Service on the 14th, cumulative exports from January 1 through the 10th of this year totaled $963.663 billion, up 62.0% from the same period last year. The amount needed to reach $1 trillion is approximately $36.3 billion.

The Asia Business Daily DB

Average daily exports from the 1st to the 10th of this month were $4.46 billion. If this pace of export growth continues, exports will reach $997.113 billion on the 19th and $1.001573 trillion on the 20th, surpassing the $1 trillion mark.

Semiconductors are driving the strong export performance. Exports during the first 10 days of this month totaled $33.5 billion, the highest ever for that period. Semiconductor exports reached $16.6 billion, up 331.2%, also setting a record for the period. Their share of total exports rose to 49.7%, up 25.3 percentage points from a year earlier. Exports of computer peripherals (up 237.7%), petroleum products (100.7%), ships (63.9%), steel products (38.8%) and wireless communication devices (35.1%) also increased. Passenger car exports fell 4.3%. By destination, exports rose to China ($9.16 billion, up 148.0%), the United States ($6.80 billion, up 163.6%), Vietnam ($3.20 billion, up 113.3%), Taiwan ($2.08 billion, up 182.5%) and the European Union (EU; $1.72 billion, up 20.0%). The top three destinations—China, the United States and Vietnam—accounted for 57.3% of exports.

Cumulative exports from January 1 to November 10 last year totaled $594.9 billion. Exports increased by $368.763 billion in one year. Over the same period, semiconductor exports surged nearly threefold, or 196.9%, from $139.229 billion to $413.393 billion. Growth in semiconductor exports accounted for 74.3% of the increase in total exports.

Semiconductor export growth is accelerating. After rebounding with an 11.9% year-on-year increase in March last year, the growth rate gradually climbed to 43.2% in December. Growth accelerated further this year, reaching 102.8% in January, 199.5% in June and 259.4% in October. Amid the sharp growth, semiconductor exports exceeded $50 billion in both September and October. The increase has been driven by sustained capital investment by global Big Tech companies seeking to secure leadership in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, which has lifted fixed prices for memory products. From June to October, the price of DDR5 16Gb rose from $40 to $50, while that of NAND 128Gb increased from $28.8 to $30.6.

The strong performance in semiconductors is expected to continue for the time being. Kim Yang-paeng, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade, said, "This year, semiconductor export growth is expected to hold at this level, and the trend is unlikely to change through the first half of next year. However, in the second half of next year, if expansions at global companies' factories ease supply shortages to some extent, prices may fall. In that case, export volumes may change little, but export value could decline from current levels."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.