Cathay reported continued cargo growth in March, transporting 10.6% more freight than the same month last year, driven by the year's first traditional cargo peak.

The cargo arm of Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific said it carried 148, 807 tonnes compared to March 2024.

Last month's volumes are also higher than the 110,707 tonnes handled by the carrier in February 2024, and the 130,572 tonnes of air freight that Cathay Cargo transported in January 2025.

"While March marked a quieter month for our travel business, our cargo business saw strong growth momentum as we entered the first traditional cargo peak of the year," said Lavinia Lau, chief customer and commercial officer at Cathay.

"However, the latest developments on trade tariffs are creating uncertainties that may cause disruptions to our cargo business, changes in travel demand, increased costs and pressure on supply chains, among other impacts," she added, noting that Cathay is taking "proactive steps" to put itself in the best possible position in facing and mitigating these external forces.

[Source: Cathay]

According to traffic figures released by the airline group for March, available freight tonne kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 8.5% while load factor decreased by 1.2 percentage points year on year.

In the first three months of 2025, the total tonnage increased by 12% compared with the same period in 2024.

Lau noted that specialist solutions continue to be Cathay's area of focus as it saw notable growth in Cathay Priority during the quarter end. The carrier also launched its refreshed Cathay Fresh solution for transporting perishables.

"Furthermore, we have recently achieved an industry first with our new intermodal cold-chain route via the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge, delivering chilled seafood from Southeast Asia into the Greater Bay Area through our Hong Kong hub," she said.

Softening US-China cargo demand

Meanwhile, Lau indicated that demand between China and the U.S. is likely to soften in the coming months as the tariff war between the world's largest economies intensifies.

"We expect a softening of general air cargo demand between the Chinese Mainland and the United States due to the ongoing tariff situation and de minimis rule changes from early May," the Cathay chief customer and commercial officer said.

"However, our network strength and flexibility in redeploying our freighters will allow us to adapt and redirect our focus to emerging opportunities. We will stay close to the market and monitor the developments vigilantly," she added.