Air cargo is an important indicator of trade and economic momentum as it accounts for about 35 percent of world trade by value.
Air freight handled by HKIA fell to 325,000 tons last month, it said, as consumer sentiment in Hong Kong’s two major export markets, North America and Europe, remains fragile.
“Air freight is likely to remain weak in coming months as the base of last year was high because of restocking amid an economic recovery,” Daiwa Securities aviation analyst Kelvin Lau said before the data was released.
“With a looming recession, people are now unwilling to take more stock, reflecting weak consumer confidence,” Lau said.
US consumer sentiment unexpectedly slumped in early October with consumer expectation back down to the lowest level in more than 30 years, a survey release on Oct 14 showed.
Consumer confidence in the euro zone fell sharply in September.
“Air cargoes are largely electronic products. This is more sensitive to the US side then the other part of Chinese exports,” said Dong Tao, senior economist at Credit Suisse, adding that China’s export growth will likely slow further.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, is mainland China’s largest trade partner. Imports and exports between Hong Kong and China hit $230 billion in 2010.
China’s exports rose 17.1 percent in September from a year earlier, the lowest since February, and economists widely expected demand from its biggest trading partners, Europe and North America, to weaken in coming months due to the impact of the European debt crisis and slowing US economy.
Exporters at China’s largest trade show, which lasts for about three weeks from Oct. 14, said that a darkening economic outlook in the west was weighing on orders for China-made good.
In the first nine months, HKIA moved 2.9 million tons of cargo such as Apple’s iPhones and luxury consumer goods such as Prada handbags, down 3.9 percent from the same period last year.
Cathay Pacific Airways, the world’s largest air cargo carrier, said last week its cargo throughput fell in September, the sixth consecutive drop.
Global air freight markets posted a 3.8 percent contraction in August, more than double the pace of July’s 1.8 percent decline as business and consumer confidence continued to slump, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
HKIA overtook US Memphis International Airport as the world’s largest air cargo hub in 2010, when it moved 4.1 million tons of goods against Memphis’ 3.9 million tons.
