[ Cargo bottleneck to have bad influence for domestic ]

The strike of train engineers is feared to disrupt the supply of petro-
leum products and cement to inland areas.
Delays in transporting containers to ports, which would follow if addi-
tional trucks are not made available, would result in a daily $25 mil-
lion decline in exports.
The railroad takes up 122,000 barrels of petroleum products, or 8.3 per-
cent of the 1,463,000 barrels transported a day. The rest is taken up
by ships, trucks and underground pipes.
Seoul’s metropolitan area depends on the railroad for a supply of 33,
588 tons a day, more than half of its need.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) recommanded that the
government permit trucks to load cement and container cargo beyond
normal limits during the strike.
The railroad transports 3,774,000 tons of goods in containers to and
from ports a year, or 11.7 percent of the total 31,925,000 tons of con-
tainer trade.
The Ministry of Transportation plans to maintain container transportat-
ion at 40 percent of normal levels. The MOTIE suggested that the gover-
nment designate exclusive lanes on expressway so that trucks will be
able to make up for difference.