Hong Kong's top airfreight handler said its tonnage fell by nearly one-third in January, a new sign that shipping in Asia is going from bad to worse.
Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals saw tonnage fall 30.9 percent in January from the previous-year period. Imports plunged 34.7 percent and exports were off 32.6 percent, and only a milder decline in transshipments pulled the overall numbers back from complete collapse.
The company is the largest cargo handler at the world's largest international cargo airport and the January data provides fresh evidence that the global economic downturn is hitting Asia especially hard and that it is getting worse.
Tonnage fell about 15 percent from December to January and Hong Kong's largest trading lanes showed the steepest declines. Exports to North America fell 36.7 percent in January compared to the same month a year ago, while exports to Southeast Asia tumbled 44.9 percent. Overall trade with Japan and South Korea fell about 50 percent, including a 53.4-percent drop in imports.
Imports from Europe were down 41.7 percent, HACTL said, while exports to Europe decreased 28.2 percent.
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