Asia Airfreight Terminal (AAT), the second cargo terminal handler at Hong Kong International Airport, reported a 12 percent increase in tonnage throughput year-on-year for November 2012, traffic pushed up by a surge in demand for high-tech products.
AAT handled a total of 69,150 tonnes of cargo last month as both export and import volumes went up. Export cargo registered 49,887 tonnes, up 13 percent against the same month last year. Import cargo volume was 18,869 tonnes, a 9 percent year-on-year growth. But transshipment cargo continues to stall, recording 395 tonnes, down 11 percent in November against the corresponding period in 2011.
From January to November 2012, the cumulative export tonnage was 451,302, an improvement of 3 percent against the same period last year. The import tonnage for the first eleven months registered 194,055, representing a 2 percent year-on-year growth.
Cumulative transshipment cargo volume dropped 45 percent to 5,458 tonnes compared to the same period last year.
Kenneth Yeung, AAT general manager for corporate development, noted a strong rebound over the previous months. “In November, driven by the launch of a number of new hi-tech consumer products, we saw an uptick in demand in the export to North America and Europe, and import from Southwest Pacific. We believe our overall annual performance in 2012 would conclude slightly better than expected.”
Photo: Skathill
