The air cargo market is beginning to "warm up" both from a seasonal peak perspective and also ahead of the annual shopping holidays of Black Friday in the US and Europe as well as 'Singles Day' in the Chinese mainland, according to a new analysis by Tim Wong, new general manager cargo service delivery at Cathay Cargo.
He noted that, as was the case over the summer, this is being led by exports, particularly e-commerce and consumer goods, from the Greater Bay Area (GBA).
"Our intermodal process of taking shipments from the Cathay Cargo Terminal in Dongguan to Hong Kong by sea for export by air is proving popular with week-on-week tonnage growth," Wong said.
He noted that it is now possible to import shipments into the GBA using this intermodal route too.
Meanwhile, the Cathay Cargo Terminal in Hong Kong has achieved its own landmark, Wong said, noting that it is celebrating its 10th anniversary, marked by a gala reception.
"I am new to this role, but not Cargo, having come from the commercial side. I've always been aware of the team's exciting enhancements to our service to improve the shipment experience," Wong said.
"I've already seen for myself how responsive they are in adversity — we've endured some extreme weather in Hong Kong over the past month, with one of the strongest typhoons on record, followed a mere week later by one of the worst rainstorms that also shut the city down," he added, noting that inevitably, this brought disruption to our schedule.
"I have been really impressed with how the operational team goes above and beyond to reprioritise shipments," Wong said.
The new general manager of cargo service delivery noted that Cathay has also been experiencing some temporary disruptions to our freighter schedule.
"This is a consequence of some of the issues that are affecting the wider aviation supply chain, particularly the availability of spare parts," Wong said.
"We will be carrying out a preventative maintenance programme, which may mean some programmed cancellations. Our sales teams will have the latest information, and I'd like to thank customers for their understanding as we work our way through these issues," he added.
