Hong Kong’s Sept cargo falls 6%

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), the world’s busiest air cargo hub, posted a 6.1 per cent decline in September cargo volumes as the European and US economic slowdown dampens consumer demand for high-value exports from Asia, especially China. Total air cargo volume handled at HKIA fell to 325,000 tonnes in September. Consumer confidence in the euro zone fell sharply in September while US consumer sentiment unexpectedly slumped in early October with consumer expectation back down to the lowest level in more than 30 years, a survey release on 14 October showed. China’s exports rose 17.1 per cent in September from a year earlier, the lowest since February and economists widely expected demand from its biggest trading partners, Europe and North America, to weaken in coming months due to the impact of the European debt crisis and slowing US economy. In the first nine months, HKIA moved 2.9 million tonnes of cargo, down 3.9 per cent from the same period last year. Cathay Pacific Airways, the world’s largest air cargo carrier, said last week its cargo throughput fell in September, the sixth consecutive drop. Global air freight markets posted a 3.8 per cent contraction in August, more than double the pace of July’s 1.8 per cent decline as business and consumer confidence continued to slump, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).