Mike King, Special Correspondent | Apr 23, 2012 10:13AM EDT
Cargo volume through Hong Kong International Airport dipped 0.4 percent year-over-year in March, to 368,000 metric tons, despite a 5.2 percent increase in flights.
The volume was a dramatic 28 percent improvement over a month earlier.
The year-over-year decline in cargo throughput was due primarily to a 4.5 percent year-over-year drop in imports, as exports registered 3 percent growth, according to Airport Authority Hong Kong.
Cargo throughput to and from Southeast Asia outperformed other regions. Cargo volume at the world’s largest freight airport declined 1.5 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, to 930,000 metric tons, while aircraft movements grew 6.6 percent to 85,170 over the same period.
Stanley Hui Hon-chung, CEO of Airport Authority Hong Kong, said HKIA’s cargo performance in March was an improvement achieved “despite economic uncertainty” and said he expected cargo performance to improve at a gradual pace as the year progressed.
Contact Mike King at michael@borderline.eu.com