China's November air cargo off 11.3pc as offshore demand fades

CUT BACKS in European and US consumer spending has resulted in an 11.3 per cent year-on-year decline in cargo volumes for mainland airlines in November.

Air cargo from the mainland to Hong Kong, a major export hub for Chinese air freight, fell 22.4 per cent, after it fell 3.1 per cent in October, reported The South China Morning Post.

Hong Kong, a key re-export hub for mainland cargo, also suffered. An unidentified Cathay Pacific executive said he expected Hong Kong exports to fall more than 20 per cent in December, magnifying the 15.4 per cent decline in November.

Cathay has delivered its second profit warning to the Hong Kong stock exchange since November, having already announced that it has parked two freighters from January to trim US and European capacity 10 per cent.

Factories on the Pearl River Delta are mainly working on old contracts, since no new contracts have been signed, said Sunny Ho Lap-kee, the executive director of the Hong Kong Shippers' Council.

The market, he said, would be slow to recover because contracts have six-week to six-month lag times.

Said China Cargo Airlines vice president Chen Daqian: Demand for high-end products, such as electronics and high fashion, is withering. We have secured no guaranteed contracts from freight forwarders this year because they lack confidence in demand.

Source: Schednet