Continuing to struggle


It is a mixed picture for Greater China-based logistics service providers right now – the volume of air freight processing through gateways such as Hong Kong has stabilised somewhat, indicating some signs of recovery, but a number of locally-based carriers are still finding it very hard going


H


ong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (HACTL) has successfully completed the final phase of imple- mentation of its new COSAC-Plus Cargo Management System, after


investing three years and HK$240 million (US$31 million) in its development. The last 26 of the handler’s 91 airline cus-


tomers transferred smoothly to the new system on 9 April. HACTL general manager - information ser-


vices Cindy Ng declared: “With ever-changing regulations and customer needs, the system must continue to evolve.


“COSAC-Plus and its two predecessors have


been the backbone of HACTL’s operations for 36 years, and we continue to invest heavily in ensuring that the system is fully up-to-date and totally robust. When you handle three million tonnes of cargo a year for over 90 airlines and 1,000 freight forwarders, failure is not an option,” Ng added. HACTL has also posted encouraging news


with regard to its March throughput, indicating continuing recovery. Export volumes rose by 0.4 percent over the same month of 2011, to 137,598 tonnes. Transhipments rose by a more significant 7.7 percent to 58,543 tonnes.


On the other hand, imports


dropped by 10 percent to 57,630 tonnes for the month; but HACTL pointed out that its total throughput for the month, at 253,771 tonnes, fell just 0.7 percent short of that processed in March last year. Lilian Chan, executive direc-


tor at the handler, remarked: “We have progressively closed the gap which opened up dur- ing 2011, when we experienced a fall to as much as 12 percent below the previous year’s strong performance, in May 2011. “The anomaly created by the different dates


of the Chinese New Year in 2011 and 2012 has now worked its way through, so comparisons are more meaningful again. But what is not yet clear is whether the rest of 2012 will track the trends of 2011 again, or whether our first quar- ter recovery is a sign that we are now gradually returning to 2010 traffic levels, and underlying growth,” she explained. “Important markets in Europe and the USA are still unsettled. We continue to support our


customer carriers with heavy investment and rigorous quality controls, and we hope these are factors in the improved market shares shown by some. But global trade is bigger than all of us, and generally defies accurate prediction,” Chan


concluded. n A Russian delegation recently visited the HACTL SuperTerminal 1 facility to explore the latest developments and best practices in the implementation of e-freight, which is to be piloted in Russia. The first test transit flights will be provided by Aeroflot from Hong Kong via Tolmachevo airport to Frankfurt-Hahn.


Traffic stabilises at Hong Kong gateway


In March, Hong Kong International airport processed 368,000 tonnes of cargo, a fall of 0.4 percent on the same month of 2011. Airport Authority Hong Kong attributed the decline in


freight throughput primarily to a 4.5 percent drop in imports. Exports were up by 3 percent year-on-year, while tranship- ments were down by 3 percent. Stanley Hui, CEO at Airport Authority Hong Kong, noted: “In


addition to the good growth in passenger traffic and flight movements, we have also seen an improvement in cargo per- formance despite economic uncertainty. “Looking forward, we are confident about the outlook for


air traffic performance... We believe passenger volume and flight movements are likely to sustain their growth trends, while cargo tonnage should continue to grow at a slower pace,” he added. During the first three months of this year, the cargo volume


at Hong Kong International airport dropped by 1.5 percent compared to the initial quarter of 2011 with 930,000 tonnes moving through the gateway.


Hui : “confident about the outlook”


Volumes pick up at Macau after a tough time last year


Macau International airport processed 1,978 tonnes of cargo in February – a rise of 28 per- cent over the 1,548 tonnes handled during the same month of last year. In its annual report, the airport noted that


total throughput for 2011 was 39,524 tonnes of cargo, down by 24 percent year-on-year. Chal- lenges included ongoing economic uncertainty,


natural disasters in Japan and Thailand, unstable oil prices, rising costs and a noticeable shortage of manpower. In spite of a 13 percent rise in revenues and a


cost-cutting programme, the gateway made a loss of MOP15 million (US$1.9 million) in 2011. This year, Macau airport expects to pro- cess a total of 30,000 tonnes of cargo.


Page 8


30 April 2012


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