South Korea's exports reached a record high last month, but performance varied significantly by category. Thanks to a boom in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, exports of semiconductors and computers saw triple-digit growth, while shipments of ships and household goods declined. Although automobile exports continued to grow, driven by hybrids and electric vehicles, traditional internal combustion engine vehicles and used cars struggled. Despite a significant increase in export value for petroleum products and petrochemicals, actual shipment volumes decreased, highlighting differing recovery patterns across sectors.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's report on October 2026 trade trends, South Korea's exports totaled $115.276 billion, a 93.7% increase compared to the same month last year. Among the 20 major export items, 18 saw growth, with only ships (-43.6%) and household goods (-13.4%) experiencing declines.
Semiconductors were the clear leader in driving overall export growth. In October, semiconductor exports reached $56.438 billion, marking a 259.4% increase year-on-year. Nearly half (48.9%) of the total export value came from semiconductors, as global tech giants expanded investments in AI infrastructure, boosting demand for DRAM and contributing to rising prices.
Computer exports outpaced semiconductors in growth rate, surging sixfold (496.6%) to $5.853 billion last month. Notably, exports of solid-state drives (SSDs) for servers skyrocketed from $820 million to $5.64 billion, a 584.3% increase. This surge is attributed to increased data center investments driven by the expansion of AI services, which boosted demand for both semiconductors and storage devices.
Automobile exports also showed strong performance, reaching $6.549 billion in October, an 18.1% increase compared to the same month last year, setting a record for October. The shift of the Chuseok holiday to September this year increased the number of working days from 20 to 22, coupled with rising demand for eco-friendly vehicles.
However, there were notable differences among vehicle types. Exports of hybrid vehicles rose by 53.1% to $2.06 billion, while electric vehicle exports increased by 41.6% to $1.04 billion. In contrast, internal combustion engine vehicle exports fell by 0.4% to $3.45 billion, and used car exports plummeted by 52.2% due to the impact of the Middle East conflict. Exports of automotive parts increased by 15.0% to $1.735 billion, supported by expanded production of finished vehicles.
Ships experienced the largest decline among major export items, with exports falling 43.6% to $2.644 billion. This drop was significantly influenced by a base effect from the previous year when a $2.47 billion offshore plant was exported in October.
Household goods exports also decreased by 13.4% to $747 million, marking three consecutive months of declines following drops of 4.1% in August and 5.1% in September, diverging from the overall growth trend of major items.
While petroleum product exports surged by 80.0% to $6.919 billion and petrochemical exports rose by 27.5% to $4.020 billion, actual shipment volumes for both categories fell by 7.5% and 6.8%, respectively. This discrepancy is attributed to high international oil prices, driven by supply uncertainties in the Middle East, which led to increases in export prices of 94.5% and 36.9%.
An industry insider noted, “While semiconductor-driven export records continue, demand, prices, and volume trends vary significantly across sectors. It is important to evaluate the situation of each sector separately, as improvements in overall export indicators do not necessarily indicate a recovery across the entire industry.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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