Despite Fewer Working Days, October Exports Rose 3.6% Year-on-Year

Despite an extended Chuseok holiday in October, exports increased by 3.6% compared to the same month last year, marking the fifth consecutive month of growth. Improved performance in key items such as semiconductors and ships led to the highest export value ever recorded for October. However, exports to the United States of America (USA) dropped by 16.2% year-on-year, mainly due to tariff impacts on automobiles, General Machinery, and steel.
On the 1st, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced these results in its 'October 2025 Export and Import Trends' report. Exports in October reached $59.57 billion, up 3.6% from a year earlier, while imports fell 1.5% to $53.52 billion. As a result, the trade balance showed a surplus of $6.06 billion.
This performance is notable given that the number of working days decreased from 22 last year to 20 this year. When adjusted for working days, average daily exports reached $2.98 billion, a 14% increase from the previous year, setting a new monthly record.
Among the 15 major export items, four categories saw growth. Semiconductor exports in October totaled $15.73 billion, up 25.4% year-on-year. Semiconductors have posted positive growth for eight consecutive months, supported by continued demand for high-capacity, high-value memory such as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and Double Data Rate 5 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR5), as well as rising fixed prices.
Ship exports, including Offshore Plant ($2.47 billion), surged by 131.2% to a total of $4.69 billion.
In contrast, most core manufacturing items recorded declines: automobiles (-10.5%), Automotive Parts (-18.9%), steel (-21.5%), General Machinery (-16.1%), and home appliances (-19.8%).
Among the nine major export regions, only Latin America (+99.0%) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (+34.4%) showed increases.
Meanwhile, exports to the USA fell by 16.2% to $8.71 billion. All major items, including automobiles, steel, and General Machinery, underperformed, making the USA the only region among the top nine to post a double-digit decline.

aber@fnnews.com Ji-young Park Reporter