Cathay Pacific and Dragonair recorded a 3% year-on-year decrease in cargo for November 2015, according to combined traffic statistics.

The cargo and mail load factor was 67%, a year-on-year decrease of 1.4 percentage points. RTKs also fell by 3.2%.

“We entered the traditional peak period for air freight in November, but overall demand fell short of our original expectations,” said Mark Sutch, general manager of cargo sales and marketing at Cathay Pacific. “We saw a decline in the tonnage carried compared to the same month last year, while yield fell short of expected peak-season levels due to an excess of capacity in the market. On the positive side, we saw good demand on trans-Pacific routes, which remains our key area of strength, and also into and out of India.”

Sutch added that Cathay’s cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport recorded its highest monthly throughput since its phased opening in February 2013.

Despite the drop, the two airlines carried more than 1.6 million tonnes of cargo and mail from January 2015 to November 2015, a 4.6% increase compared to the same period in 2014.