07 September 2011
Asiana Airlines began its thrice weekly cargo service between Miami International Airport (MIA) and Seoul, Korea just after midnight Sept. 2, making it the fifth airline to move freight between the Asia-Pacific region and MIA.
The start of service comes as trade between Miami and South Korea slips from the record it set last year at the same time.
Cargo service between Asia and the airport grew from nine weekly flights in 2009 to 19 weekly flights in 2010, according to a press release from the airport. MIA’s Asian carriers, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines, Korean Air and Qantas Airways moved 52,257.25 short tons of cargo in the first seven months of 2011, 12.57 percent more than last year, according to an analysis of airport data by the Florida Foreign Trade Association.
In the first half of 2011 a record $49.53 billion of goods moved between South Korea and the U.S., 16.12 percent above the $42.65 billion record set in 2008, according to a WorldCity analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. Half year trade between the Miami Customs District, which stretches from Port St. Lucie to the Keys, and South Korea slid to $364.94 million, a 22.21 percent drop from the $469.17 million the region saw with that country in 2010 but 7.86 percent above the record $336.24 million in trade in 2007, prior to the onset of the recession.
Meanwhile South Korea in 2010 was the U.S. No. 7 trading partner with $67.88 billion worth of goods moving between the two countries. It was the 27th most valuable trading partner for the Miami Customs district worth $968.36 million.