Tech hope for Cathay
16 / 10 / 2012
CATHAY PACIFIC bosses remain hopeful of a tech lift to their year after another torrid set of figures for air cargo.
In August Cathay’s freight was down 10.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2011 and 10.6 per cent for the year to date.
This time last year following the launch of the iPhone 4s Cathay described the market as "soft" but was still pushing into western China to capture that export market.
This time last year following the launch of the iPhone 4s Cathay described the market as "soft" but was still pushing into western China to capture that export market.
Record demand for the iPhone 5 is expected to boost carriers.
Apple had hoped to get the device to market from September 21 but industry analysts expect this date to shift with consequences for the supply chain.
James Woodrow, Cathay Pacific general manager cargo sales and marketing remained sanguine: “Demand in the cargo markets is traditionally weak in August and this year was no exception.
“We saw a decline in tonnage compared to the same month in 2011, when demand had already seen a significant fall off, and our load factor was down despite the reduction in capacity.
“We expect to see some increase in demand from mid-September onwards, driven by the shipment of hi-tech products from the key manufacturing centres in mainland China.”
Apple have said they already have two million preorders for the new iPhone.
