Issue 415, August 26, 2003

A strike by 30,000 truck drivers in South Korea entered its sixth day today, with no new talks scheduled between striking drivers and their employers. Unfortunately, the strike has begun to disrupt operations at all major South Korean container ports, with traffic flows reported to be about half of the normal activity.

The South Korean government views this as an illegal strike, and it is considering several countermeasures, including the mobilization of military vehicles to move goods, increased reliance on non-union truckers and a broadening of the use of rail transportation. As of this communiqu鬠steamship lines have reported no changes to their sailing schedules, and they have not yet implemented contingency plans

DHL Danzas Air & Ocean is working hard to secure alternate means of transport for all affected cargo. We are exploring the use of outside trucking firms to handle shipments bound for export from South Korea. For import shipments to South Korea, we are delivering less-than-container load traffic in vehicles with capacity of less than eight tons, thus avoiding a conflict with unionized truckers that operate vehicles above the 8-ton capacity threshold. Approximately half of all full container-load import shipments are being handled by outside contractors. As of this publication, the flow of import LCL consolidations continues to move normally.

The duration of the strike remains unclear. Please be advised that we are closely monitoring events in South Korea and will take swift action to safeguard your goods and ensure, to the best of our ability, their timely delivery

We will update you as events warrant. In the meantime, do not hesitate to contact your local DHL Danzas Air & Ocean representative with any questions or comments.