Cathay Pacific and subsidiary Dragonair recorded a 5.4% increase in revenue tonne-kilometres for 2015 compared to 2014, according to combined traffic figures released by the two airlines.

The airlines carried a total of 1,797,785 tonnes of cargo and mail in 2015, which was a year-on-year increase of 4.3%.

“The seasonal peak for air freight lasted until the week before Christmas and our performance in December, at least in terms of tonnage lifted, was marginally ahead of expectations,” said Mark Sutch, general manager of cargo sales and marketing at Cathay Pacific. “Demand on the trans-Pacific and Indian routes remained robust.”

The total load factor for the year was 64.2%, a 0.1 percentage-point drop compared to 2014, while the available capacity rose by 5.4%.

The balance between demand and supply is something which carriers all over the world have been struggling with, and will continue to pose challenges to the air-freight industry.

“Unfortunately, the excess of capacity in the world’s air cargo markets made it difficult for carriers to get rates up to the kind of levels expected during the year-end peak,” said Sutch. “Overcapacity and pressure on yield will remain concerns for the industry moving into the New Year.”