A turnaround in air freight demand in China? The biggest cargo handlers at the two busiest cargo airports in China have now reported their April results, and the news is encouraging. Hong Kong International's Hactl - the world's busiest cargo terminal - and Shanghai Pudong's Pactl reported tonnage growth of 3.8% and 7.1%, respectively. Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals (Hactl) reported its April handle up 3.8% y-o-y to 236,000 tonnes. Export volume was up 4.2% to 127,000 tonnes, import volume was up 1.3% to 53,000 tonnes, and transshipment volume (which now exceeds imports), was up 5.2% to 56,000 tonnes. These gains come despite the fact that Cathay Pacific, Hactl's biggest customer, has begun handling some of its own cargo (and that of subsidiary carrier Dragonair) in the new facility it opened in late February. At this early stage, Cathay has not moved much of its cargo away from Hactl, but as we move further into 2013, the impact on Hactl's tonnage will become significant. For the first four months of 2013 Hactl's handle was up 2.1% to 880,000 tonnes.
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