Hong Kong saw air cargo volumes edge up in May from April, but air freight numbers continue to be below the level seen in the same period in 2022. 

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) — the world's busiest air cargo hub — saw air cargo throughput decline  4.0% to 350,000 tonnes compared to the same month last year. 

May's performance, however, was slightly higher than 347,00o tonnes recorded in April, which was 7.7% lower year-on-year.

HKIA's air cargo performance stood at 372,000 tonnes recorded in March.

"Cargo volume continued to be impacted by global economic uncertainties," the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) said in a statement.

"Overall cargo volume declined in May, with imports decreasing by 30% compared to the same month last year."

For May, flight movements represent an increase of 113%.

AAHK noted that traffic to and from Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Japan saw the most significant decrease during the month.

Over the first five months of the year, cargo throughput handled by the airport declined year-on-year by 6.1% to 1.6 million tonnes.

On a 12-month rolling basis, HKIA saw air freight volumes decrease by 16.0% to 4.1 million tonnes compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, flight movements rose by 27.9% to 184,170 during the period.