Transhipment cargo continues to provide Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) with through put growth despite flattening growth figures for import and export cargo.
A total of 219,502 tonnes were handled in June, representing year-on-year growth of 2.5 per cent while tonnage through puts for the second quarter and for the first half of the year were 663,858 tonnes and 1,278,391 tonnes, representing year-on-year growth of 5.4 per centand 5.9 per cent respectively.
Export volume was 118,321 tonnes for June and 363,372 tonnes for the second quarter, registering a year-on-year growth of 0.1 and 3.2 per cent respectively.”Volume exported to the US and Europe registered a slight growth of 2.2and 3.3 per cent in the second quarter, respectively, underscoring a “continuous slower growth trend for exports to both markets,” said Hactl.
“Export volume growth to mainland China remains fairly stable, registering a growth of 7.3 per cent in the secondquarter. Cumulative export tonnage for the first half of the year was 694,062 tonnes, up 4.1 per cent against the same period last year.”
A total of 57,461 tonnes and 174,594 tonnes of import cargo were handled in June and in the second quarter, representing a 0.7 per cent decrease and a 5.3 per cent increase year-on-year for the respective periods.
“Import volume from the US registered a rather strong growth of 19.2 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter as a result of the weak US dollar; while another major import market, Europe only showed a slight increase of 1.2 percent,” according to Hactl.
Transhipment cargo continued to be the main driving force behind the steady cargo growth with 43,720 tonnes recorded for June and 125,892 tonnes for the second quarter, representing year-on-year increases of 15.1 and 12.4 per cent for the respective periods. Total transhipment volume for the first six months was 246,315 tonnes, up 16 percent year-on-year.