Hong Kong freight stabilising

HONG Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) handled 232,476 tonnes in December 2009, an increase of 38.5 per cent from the same month in 2008. However, this increase is only relative to the massive slump that came in December 2008: 167,845 tonnes, down 29.7 per cent from 2007.This brought Hactl’s total amount of freight handled in 2009 to 2,323,605 tonnes, a year-on-year reduction of 8.3 per cent.“2009 has been a year full of ups and downs,” said Lilian Chan (right), Hactl’s general manager of marketing and customer service. “While we came across difficult moments in the first six months, the global economy has delightfully stabilised from the third quarter and has picked up faster than expected.“We do not have a crystal ball to predict the market condition, but we are expecting a more stable year in 2010. At Hactl, we shall focus on upgrading our IT systems and enhancing our communication platforms with the industry this year, ensuring timely, stable and reliable services are well delivered to our airline customers, as well as maintaining and strengthening Hong Kong’s air cargo hub status.”