Cathay Pacific reports 7.9 percent increase in cargo traffic in April

Today, Cathay Pacific Group released its April 2018 traffic figures, showing a substantial increase of 7.9 percent in revenue tonne kilometers (RTKs), year-over-year. The month prior, in March, the group’s carriers experienced a decent, if more modest, figure of 4.9 percent year-over-year – an increase that may suggest that carriers can expect to ride out the high of 2017’s fruitful traffic numbers for a bit longer.

The company’s cargo and mail load factor rose by 2.3 points to 68 percent while capacity, measured in available cargo and mail tonne kilometers, increased by 4.2 percent.

Cathay Pacific attributed its RTK growth to demand on its routes in Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, mainland China and Taiwan. “Meanwhile, the positive momentum in our cargo business continued into April. Tonnage grew ahead of capacity while yield strengthened,” said Ronald Lam, Cathay Pacific’s director of commercial and cargo. “After a slight slowdown in our Hong Kong and mainland China markets early in the month, volumes started to pick up again during the month and network flow from the Americas, Europe, India, Japan and Southeast Asia continued to show strength.”

The increase in cargo traffic contrasts with a reported decrease in passenger volume of 0.8 percent moved, compared to the same period of last year.