After posting growth in May and June, Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) saw cargo volume in July decline 1.6 percent year-on-year to 335,000 tonnes.
Although imports grew by 4 percent in July, cargo volume dipped primarily because of a 4 percent year-on-year drop in exports together with a 3 percent decrease in transshipments.
Cargo activity with Southeast Asia outperformed other key regions, HKIA said in an August 19 statement.
For the first seven months of the year, HKIA handled cargo volume amounting to 2.3 million tonnes, a 0.2 percent fall compared to the same period last year.
On a rolling 12-month basis, cargo volume declined by 3.1 percent to 3.9 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, Asia Airfreight Terminal (AAT), the second cargo terminal operator at HKIA, said its tonnage throughput in July dropped 1 percent to 59,476 tonnes from the same period last year.
Export cargo was recorded at 40,483 tonnes, a drop of 0.28 percent, while import cargo reached 18,488 tonnes, a rise of 4 percent. Transshipment cargo volume was 505 tonnes, a reduction of 72 percent against the corresponding period in 2011.
From January to July 2012, the cumulative export tonnage was 273,677 tonnes, a 0.04 percent increase against the same period last year. Total import tonnage was 123,832 tonnes for a 3 percent year-on-year growth. Transshipment cargo volume was 3,525 tonnes, down 53 percent.
“Aviation is always a volatile and challenging industry. The world economy and trade market are still fragile. Cargo business has been affected by continuing weak demand in major markets,” Kenneth Yeung, AAT general manager for corporate development, said.
Photo: Phillip C
