Cargo handling by Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited reached 710,021 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2011, falling 7.3 percent from the same period in 2010, said Hactl, one of the world’s leading air cargo terminal operators, with headquarters at Hong Kong International Airport.
Total exports in the fourth quarter were down 9.3 percent, and imports dipped 11.9 percent, but transshipments grew 3.8 percent, Hactl said in a statement.
In 2011, Hactl handled a total of more than 2.7 million tonnes, down 6.2 percent. This comprised over 1.4 million tonnes of exports (down 9 percent), nearly 677,000 tonnes of imports (down 8.8 percent), and over 597,000 tonnes of transshipments (up 5.1 percent). Transshipments showed growth in nine months of 2011.
Lilian Chan, executive director of Hactl, said: “After a year when traffic was as much as 12% behind, to finish just 6.2% down on the record throughput of 2010 is a very satisfactory result. The last quarter showed improvement, and gives us some hope that 2012 may start more strongly than we expected.”
But she said they are still cautious about this year. “The best efforts of our carriers, Hong Kong International Airport and Hactl can do little to counteract the continuing soft demand from China and Hong Kong into the world’s consumer markets. Until confidence returns particularly in the USA and Europe, we can expect further challenging times and fairly flat performance.”
Photo courtesy of Hactl
