The South Korean transport ministry is to meet today November
28th with the union representing striking lorry drivers amid a
situation which threatens to disrupt ship movements into and out of South
Korea.
The mass strike by South Korean truck drivers has
disrupted logistics across the country’s economy, crippling cement, steel and
car producers.
The second nationwide strike began last Thursday. Several
key industries were hit immediately, with major companies unable to transport
their daily outputs. Hyundai Steel said it could not transport the daily
shipment of 8,000 tons from its factories. Steel giant Posco said that it was looking
into sea or rail routes to deliver the supplies.
The South Korean cement industry association said that factories
were unable to ship most of the daily supply of 200,000 tons on Thursday.
Operations at construction sites could be suspended early this week if the
cement is not delivered in time, ready-mix cement producers warned.
The strike could stop oil supplies and transport, with
workers are set to rally and block ports, petrochemical and industrial sites, as
well as logistics hubs around the country.
An eight-day strike by lorry drivers in June was
estimated to have cost the South Korean economy $1.2bn and had knock-on effects
for global supply chains.
