Cathay sees decline in January cargo

   Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair experienced a decline in cargo and mail tonnage in January, compared to January 2013, according to figures released Thursday by Cathay Pacific.
   The two airlines carried 130,955 tons of cargo and mail in January, a decrease of 1.4 percent compared to the same month last year. At the same time, capacity increased by 8.3 percent.
   Cathay Pacific General Manager of Cargo Sales and Marketing Mark Sutch stated, “The markets softened quite sharply after the pre-Christmas peak, and we didn’t see any significant surge in demand prior to Chinese New Year, though there were healthy imports of seafood and other perishable items into Greater China and North Asia in advance of the holidays. Demand fizzled out as the long holiday began in Mainland China and factories closed in other manufacturing centers in the region. We expect the pickup in February to be slow.”