HK Feb air cargo throughput surges 34.7 pct yr/yr

HONG KONG, March 9 (Reuters) - Air cargo throughput via Hong Kong in February surged 34.7 percent from a year earlier, data from Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd (Hactl) showed on Tuesday.

Cargo exports from the city in February rose 42.2 percent from a year earlier, while imports were up 31 percent.



Year-on-year change in air cargo via Hong Kong:

Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sept Aug Jul Jun
34.7 48.9 38.5 18.8 1.7 -4.3 -6.2 -8.4
14.4

Hong Kong is a re-export centre for trade between Asia and the rest of the world.

Air cargo volumes through Hong Kong in February totalled 180,033 tonnes.

'Driven by the surge in air cargo traffic before the Lunar New Year as a result of the stabilising economy, tonnage throughput for the first two months of 2010 reached a record high,' Lilian Chan, Hactl's general manager of marketing and customer service, said in a statement.

A breakdown of air cargo handled by Hactl in February:



February 2010 Jan-Feb 2010

Tonnage Yr/Yr Tonnage Yr/Yr

(tonnes) growth (pct) (tonnes) growth (pct) Export 91,800 42.2 207,097 47.7 Import 50,536 31.0 110,829 47.3 Transshipment 37,697 23.6 74,730 22.7 Total 180,033 34.7 392,656 42.1


((Reporting by Christina Lo; Editing by Chris Lewis))
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