Cathay Cargo saw its cargo volumes increase in May as the US and China paused their tariff war and additional capacity boosted performance.
The airline recorded an 8.1% year-on-year increase in cargo traffic to 734m freight tonne km (FTK), while capacity increased by 8% and the cargo load factor was up 0.1 percentage points to 59.4%.
In tonnage terms, cargo volumes were up 12.2% compared with a year earlier to 135,807 tonnes.
The cargo division said that the 90-day pause to the tariff dispute had helped boost demand as companies looked to move goods while duties were lowered.
The airline’s chief customer and commercial officer, Lavinia Lau, said: “Our cargo business performed well in May, with tonnage 1.8% higher than in April. Despite the ‘Golden Week’ holidays, we saw growth in both the Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland markets, with the temporary reduction in tariffs pending an agreement between China and the US boosting short-term demand.
“In addition, our Cathay Live Animal solution experienced robust demand, particularly exports of live seafood from Southeast Asia, and horses from Australia.”
Looking to June, Lau said that the airline is expecting the cargo overall market sentiment to “remain reasonable” and added that the company would “keep a close watch”.
Over the first five months of the year, demand in FTK terms is up 8.7% compared with the same period a year earlier.
While demand growth at the airline remained robust in June, Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) saw growth narrow during the month.
Figures from the airport show that cargo volumes in May increased by 1.4% year on year to 422,000 tonnes, slightly down on the 2.7% increase registered over the first five months of the year.
“The growth was underpinned by a 12.7% increase in transhipments,” the airport authority said. “Traffic to/from Europe and the Middle East were the primary drivers of cargo growth, showing the most increases during the month.”
