South Korea's Exports Rise for 13th Straight Month in October 2024 on Chip and Car Records
South Korea's exports reached $57.5 billion in October 2024, rising 4.6 percent year on year and extending the streak of monthly gains to a 13th consecutive month, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reported by the Yonhap News Agency on November 1, 2024. Two product lines set records inside the same monthly dataset: semiconductors climbed 40.3 percent to $12.5 billion, the highest total ever recorded for an October, while automobile exports rose 5.5 percent to $6.2 billion, also an October record. The trade balance stayed in surplus for a 17th consecutive month, at $3.17 billion.
October 2024: a 13th straight month of growth
The October dataset continues a recovery sequence that has now run for more than a year and covers every major line of the export basket. The headline figures released for the month are:
- exports — $57.5 billion, up 4.6 percent year on year, the 13th consecutive month of growth;
- imports — $54.3 billion, up 1.7 percent year on year;
- trade surplus — $3.17 billion, the 17th consecutive month in positive territory;
- semiconductors — $12.5 billion, up 40.3 percent, the highest reading for any October and the 12th consecutive month of chip growth.
The arithmetic of the month is internally consistent: exports of $57.5 billion against imports of $54.3 billion leave a gap of about $3.2 billion, in line with the reported surplus of $3.17 billion. Semiconductors alone supplied roughly a fifth of the entire monthly export total, which explains why the chip line dictates the direction of the headline figure.
Semiconductors: an October record built on AI servers
Semiconductor exports of $12.5 billion were 40.3 percent above the level of October 2023 and marked the highest total the country has ever recorded for the month of October. It was also the 12th consecutive month of year-on-year growth for the chip line. The ministry attributed the strength to demand for premium chips used in investment in AI servers, a segment that has carried the semiconductor cycle since the downturn ended.
Computers and mobile devices ride the same wave
The hardware lines adjacent to semiconductors moved in the same direction. Computer exports rose 54.1 percent year on year to $965 million, a 10th consecutive month of growth for the category, while mobile device exports climbed 19.7 percent to $2 billion. Together with the chip record, these readings show that the October gain was concentrated in the electronics complex rather than spread evenly across the basket.
Cars, steel and petrochemicals add to the gain
Outside electronics, automobiles delivered the second record of the month: car exports rose 5.5 percent year on year to $6.2 billion, the highest total for any October, supported by new models and demand for hybrid vehicles. The two main industrial material lines also grew:
- steel — $2.87 billion, up 8.8 percent year on year;
- petrochemicals — $3.98 billion, up 10.2 percent year on year.
With cars, steel and petrochemicals all in positive territory alongside the electronics complex, the October increase rested on several product groups at once rather than on a single line.
Destinations: China, the US and the European Union
By destination, exports to China rose 11 percent year on year to $12.2 billion, the highest level since $13.3 billion in September 2022. Shipments to the US increased 3.4 percent to $10.4 billion, marking a 15th consecutive monthly high for that destination. Exports to the European Union grew 5.7 percent, supported by biosimilars and mobile devices, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
The minister's target and the 2023 baseline
Commenting on the October data, Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said the government intends to keep the current pace through the remaining months of the year: "We will make efforts to maintain this momentum through the end of the year to achieve a record annual performance." The annual target is measured against a weak baseline: in 2023, the country's exports fell 7.4 percent year on year amid the semiconductor slump and global uncertainties, so the 13-month growth streak that October extended has rebuilt the export curve from that trough.
Conclusion
October 2024 gave South Korea a 13th consecutive month of export growth — $57.5 billion, up 4.6 percent — with two October records inside the same dataset: semiconductors at $12.5 billion, up 40.3 percent on premium chip demand from AI server investment, and automobiles at $6.2 billion, up 5.5 percent on new models and hybrid demand. Computers, mobile devices, steel and petrochemicals all grew as well, the surplus reached $3.17 billion for a 17th straight month, and the China, US and European Union destinations each posted gains. Measured against the 7.4 percent decline of 2023, the October figures describe an export economy that has fully reversed the slump and is now, in the minister's words, aiming at a record annual performance.
Leave a comment