HK Oct air cargo falls 8.2%, seventh-straight drop

Monday, 21 November 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

HONG KONG (Reuters): Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), the world’s busiest air cargo hub, posted on Sunday a seventh-straight monthly decrease in air cargo volume in October, tracking a global trend with trade declining in the United States and Europe.

Air cargo volume totalled 342,000 tonnes, dipping 8.2 per cent in October year on year, but the airport handled 4.6 million passenger trips, or a 5.9 per cent increase, and recorded five per cent more aircraft movements.

“While HKIA’s cargo performance is consistent with the worldwide negative growth trend, I’m pleased to see passenger volume and aircraft movements continue to rise,” Stanley Hui, HKIA’s Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement. In the first 10 months of 2011, the Hong Kong airport moved 3.3 million tonnes, down 4.4 per cent over the same period last year. On a rolling 12-month basis, cargo volume totalled four million tonnes, a decrease of 2.3 per cent.

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., the world’s largest cargo carrier, last week posted October cargo volumes that dipped 17.5 per cent on the year due to continued weak demand in Hong Kong and China.

As Hong Kong’s dominant airline, its cargo flow is a good indicator of export growth in Hong Kong and China, which posted on 16 November its most sluggish expansion in eight months.

But Cathay Pacific expects its cargo volume will return to growth in 2012 as it adds new services. Capacity is seen growing 15 to 18 per cent next year, its Cargo Director said on Thursday.