Outbound container shipping costs for major destinations, including the US west coast and the European Union, slipped in April from a month earlier, data showed Monday.

The average rate for a 40-foot container from Asia's fourth-largest economy to the US west coast reached 4.84 million won ($3,610) last month, down 5.3 percent from March, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

Compared with the previous year, the cost was down 64.4 percent. The data is based on freight rates reported by local exporting companies.

The cost for freight heading to the EU came to 2.85 million won in April, down 9.6 percent on-month. That for China, the top trading partner of South Korea, fell 10.2 percent over the period to 773,000 won.

Shipping costs for container freights bound to Japan, on the other hand, shot up 13.4 percent on-month to 966,000 won.

The data also showed South Korean importers' cost for shipping a 40-foot container from the west and east coast of America fell 6.6 percent and 15.4 percent, respectively.

Those from the EU and China fell 2.6 percent and 9.4 percent over the period, respectively, the data added. (Yonhap)