HONG KONG's cathay Pacific saw cargo volumes fall in November, reflecting how normal peak shipping season in Asia failed to materialise this year and the airline's struggle to overcome Covid crisis restrictions in Hong Kong and China, reports New York's FreightWaves.
Demand fell six per cent in October, while the decline in air cargo volume out of China accelerated in October, with shipments down 21 per cent from the prior year.
Cargo carried on Cathay freighters, and passenger aircraft fell 23.8 per cent to 114,000 tons and was 42 per cent below pre-Covid crisis levels.
Volume declined 28 per cent from the prior year. For the January-November period, Cathay Pacific's cargo volume was 12.6 per cent below the same period in 2021.
Cathay Pacific CCO Ronald Lam attributed the weak results to reduced productivity of Chinese factories because of government crackdowns for the Covid crisis.
Inflation in the US and Europe also hindered consumer purchases of goods.
The carrier experienced an uptick in e-commerce shipments to North America around the Black Friday shopping event.
Meanwhile, the carrier operated five special flights from Darwin, Australia, to bring seasonal produce to North Asia.
Cathay Pacific's prospects are brighter for 2023 following the loosening of Hong Kong's travel restrictions, enabling the carrier to reintroduce more passenger flights.
Cathay added 3,000 passenger flight sectors in the fourth quarter and expects to operate at 70 per cent of pre-Covid crisis passenger capacity by the end of 2023.
'Our expanding passenger travel network will provide our cargo customers with more destinations and greater frequencies to choose from as well,' said Mr Lam.
'However, we expect headwinds in the air cargo market to continue in the short term until supply chains in the Chinese mainland become more stable and inventory levels in key consumer markets reduce.'
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Demand fell six per cent in October, while the decline in air cargo volume out of China accelerated in October, with shipments down 21 per cent from the prior year.
Cargo carried on Cathay freighters, and passenger aircraft fell 23.8 per cent to 114,000 tons and was 42 per cent below pre-Covid crisis levels.
Volume declined 28 per cent from the prior year. For the January-November period, Cathay Pacific's cargo volume was 12.6 per cent below the same period in 2021.
Cathay Pacific CCO Ronald Lam attributed the weak results to reduced productivity of Chinese factories because of government crackdowns for the Covid crisis.
Inflation in the US and Europe also hindered consumer purchases of goods.
The carrier experienced an uptick in e-commerce shipments to North America around the Black Friday shopping event.
Meanwhile, the carrier operated five special flights from Darwin, Australia, to bring seasonal produce to North Asia.
Cathay Pacific's prospects are brighter for 2023 following the loosening of Hong Kong's travel restrictions, enabling the carrier to reintroduce more passenger flights.
Cathay added 3,000 passenger flight sectors in the fourth quarter and expects to operate at 70 per cent of pre-Covid crisis passenger capacity by the end of 2023.
'Our expanding passenger travel network will provide our cargo customers with more destinations and greater frequencies to choose from as well,' said Mr Lam.
'However, we expect headwinds in the air cargo market to continue in the short term until supply chains in the Chinese mainland become more stable and inventory levels in key consumer markets reduce.'
SeaNews Turkey
