HK March air cargo throughput up 4.4 pct yr/yr - Hactl

April 7 (Reuters) - Air cargo throughput via Hong Kong in March rose 4.4 percent from a year earlier, data from Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd (Hactl) showed.

Cargo exports and imports from the city in March increased by 4.3 percent and 0.8 perecent, respectively from a year earlier.

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

Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct
4.4
9.1 8.2 7.4 5.6 15.4

Exports to Japan in March registered a year-on-year drop of 18.3 percent, while imports from Japan in March showed a significant year-on-year decrease of 22.6 percent, Hactl said.

'The quake and the subsequent tsunami crisis in Japan are bringing supply chain disruptions, which will likely affect the aviation industry amid its recovery trajectory,' Hactl Executive Director Lilian Chan said in a statement.

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

Air cargo volumes through Hong Kong in March totalled 254,819 tonnes.

A breakdown of air cargo handled by Hactl in March and the first three months of 2011:



March 2010 Jan-March 2011

Tonnage Yr/Yr Tonnage Yr/Yr

(tonnes) growth (pct) (tonnes) growth (pct) Export 137,037 4.3 335,099 -1.0 Import 64,227 0.8 175,588 0.6 Transshipment 53,555 9.3 139,035 12.4 Total 254,819 4.4 649,722 2.0


(Reporting by Christina Lo; Editing by Chris Lewis)
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