JOC Staff | Jan 03, 2012 2:03PM EST
Hong Kong International Airport’s cargo traffic fell 6.6 percent year-over-year in November, but the steep slump in freight demand leveled off as business remained relatively stable compared to the previous month.
November’s decline from the year before was better than the 8.2 percent year-over-year drop Hong Kong saw in October, and tonnage edged up slightly from October to November and reached the highest level since March.
Export volume at the world’s largest freight airport fell 8.6 percent year-over-year, but the outbound tonnage inched up 1 percent from the month before. That suggested at least a few shippers were rushing to restock shelves after postponing shipping in an uncertain economy.
Air carriers rushed in to help replenish those stocks. Airlines flew 285 more freighter flights through Hong Kong in November than they did in October, a 6.6 percent sequential increase.
Still, there were 6.8 percent fewer freighter operations in November than the same month a year ago and 4.8 percent fewer over the past six months than the same period in 2010.