Cathay posts improved May cargo figures
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific carried 121,088 tonnes of cargo in May 2024, an increase of 10.2 per cent compared with May 2023.
The month’s cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased 3.8 per cent year on year. The cargo load factor decreased by 2.1 percentage points to 59.4, per cent, while available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 7.5 per cent year on year.
In the first five months of 2024, the tonnage increased by 10.2 per cent to total 594,896 tonnes, against an 11.8 per cent increase in AFTKs and a 4.4 per cent increase in
RFTKs, as compared with the same period for 2023.
“Cargo demand from Hong Kong and the rest of the Greater Bay Area remained solid throughout May,” said Lavinia Lau, chief customer and commercial officer, Cathay Pacific.
"Across our network, tonnage grew three per cent against last month, and 10 per cent compared with May 2023, underpinned by capacity growth of 7.5 per cent.
“We observed particularly strong growth from Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland, the Taiwan region and southeast Asia. In terms of commodity mix, there was also an increase in tonnage of general cargo as well as special cargo, with significant movements of high-end electronics, seafood and consumer products.
"E-commerce continued to perform well.
“Looking ahead we expect demand to remain strong as it has been throughout the first five months of 2024. Market sentiment, particularly out of Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, remains positive and we will continue to adjust our freighter capacity to suit the needs of our customers.
"We recently relaunched our Cathay Expert service for handling project-related cargo. This provides customers with a fully-customised handling for their odd-size, heavy or fragile cargo."
