JOC Staff | Nov 19, 2012 8:59AM EST
Air cargo throughput at Hong Kong International Airport showed a marginal year-on-year gain last month.
Driven by an 11 percent year-on-year gain in transhipment cargoes and strong North American and Mainland China volumes, the world’s largest airport by tonnage in 2011 handled 346,000 tons of cargo in October, up 1.1 percent compared to a year earlier.
After a tough year that has seen volume growth of just 0.9 percent year-on-year through October, Stanley Hui Hon-chung, Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong, said the forward outlook was encouraging. “Preliminary numbers on cargo throughput in November also suggest a welcome and strong rebound in the year-end peak months,” he said. “We are cautiously optimistic about cargo performance for 2012 given the arrival of the holiday season.”
HACTL, a handler at HKIA, posted a 2 percent gain last month when it handled 239,658 tons. Its volumes over the first tem months of 2012 are now 0.8 percent higher than a year earlier.
However, Asia Airfreight Terminal, another handler at HKIA, announced a 4 percent drop in cargo last month, as exports, imports and transhipment volumes all fell.
“The continuous yet slow recovery in recent tonnage hints that there are still downside risks in the global economic environment,” said Kenneth Yeung, AAT General Manager Corporate Development. “It is believed that Hong Kong’s trade outlook remains challenging in the near future. Therefore AAT has to stay vigilant.”
