SCMP – ah yes but we need a new HKD 136 billion 3rd runway to handle the non existent exports from the PRD which just again increased its mandatory minimum wage and from Zhuhai along the nowhere bridge
26 Jan 2012
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), the world’s busiest air cargo hub, said air cargo traffic last year fell 4.6 per cent as deepening global economic uncertainty in Europe and the United States hurt demand for exports from Asia, particularly China.
The outlook for air cargo, an important indicator of trade and economic momentum, is uncertain as consumer sentiment in Hong Kong’s two major export markets, North America and Europe, remains fragile.
“Cargo tonnage may decline further due to the slowdown in global trade but the pace of decline will likely be less than what we have seen last year,” said Airport Authority Hong Kong Chief Executive Stanley Hui Hon-chun in a statement on Wednesday.
Air cargo volume in December fell 4.3 per cent, slightly better than the 6.6 per cent drop seen in November, pushing full-year traffic down to 3.94 million tonnes.
Hong Kong’s exports rose a modest 2 per cent year on year in November, slowing from 11.5 per cent growth in October and reflecting the impact of cooling global economic conditions.
The euro zone economy grew just 0.2 per cent in the third quarter of last year and is widely expected to have contracted in the final three months of the year.
In the United States, improving labour market conditions lifted consumer confidence to an eight-month high in December, but persistently weak house prices remain an obstacle to faster economic growth.
Analysts and Hong Kong government officials have said the outlook for the city’s economy and exports does not look promising.
On a brighter note, Hong Kong passenger traffic for last year rose 5.9 per cent to a record 53.9 million, propelled by an increase in visits to and from mainland China and Southeast Asia.
Cathay Pacific Airways (SEHK: 0293) Ltd, the world’s largest air cargo carrier, said this month that its December freight volume fell about 12 per cent, ending last year on a disappointing note, and it saw no sign of improvement in the near term