Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) announced that its tonnage throughput for March and the first quarter both went down more than 20 per cent, but the figures provided “minor relief” as they are a further indicator that the sharp declines have levelled off. “The March figures came as a minor relief, as compared to the sharp tonnage declines registered in the previous months,” said Hactl’s general manager of Marketing and Customer Service, Lilian Chan. “But the market outlook remains grim for the rest of 2009 as the global trade market will need more time to recover,” she cautioned. Hong Kong’s main air cargo handler saw a throughput of 186,636 tonnes in March, representing a decline of 21.1 per cent year-on-year, while cumulative tonnage for the first quarter was down 24.7 per cent at 463,014 tonnes.