Fri Apr 13, 2012 6:57am EDT http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/13/hongkong-aircargo-idUSL3E7LR2L520120413
HONG KONG, April 13 (Reuters) – Hong Kong Air Cargo
Terminals Ltd (Hactl) said on Friday its cargo traffic fell 2.5
percent in the first quarter from the same period a year ago, as
the global economy slowed.
It handled a total of 633,935 tonnes of cargo in the January
to March period, with exports and imports decreasing 1.7 percent
and 13.3 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.
Hactl is a major air cargo player in Hong Kong, which is a
re-export centre for trade between Asia and the rest of the
world. It handles about 70 percent of the cargo traffic of Hong
Kong’s international airport.
A breakdown of air cargo handled by Hactl in March and the
first quarter of 2012:
March 2012 Jan-Mar 2012
Tonnage Yr/Yr Tonnage Yr/Yr
(tonnes) growth (pct) (tonnes) growth (pct)
Export 137,598 +0.4 329,418 -1.7
Import 57,630 -10.0 151,986 -13.3
Transshipment 58,543 +7.7 152,531 +9.1
————————————————————–
Total 253,771 -0.7 633,935 -2.5
“We have progressively closed the gap which opened up during
2011, when we experienced a fall to as much as 12 percent below
the previous year’s strong performance in May 2011,” Lilian
Chan, Hactl’s executive director, said in a statement.
“We remain hopeful but cautious. Important markets in Europe
and the USA are still unsettled,” Chan said.
Hactl’s shareholders are Jardine, Matheson & Co Ltd,
Hutchison Whampoa Ltd’s unit Hutchison Port Holdings
Ltd, the Wharf (Holdings) Ltd and China National
Aviation Corporation (Group) Ltd.
(Reporting by Christina Lo; Editing by Kim Coghill)