Container handling through South Korea’s ports hit a new high in April after rising 9% on a year earlier. That was driven by a 12% gain in shipments via the main port of Busan. While exports from Busan increased 12%, shipments to the U.S. only grew by 6%. That repeats a pattern seen across Asia and suggests the importance of North America as a driver of shipping growth may be waning. The figures for Busan suggest little disruption from new shipping alliances, though congestion in Shanghai may have had a knock-on effect across the region in May.