Cathay’s cargo up 22% in January

Cathay’s cargo up 22% in January    Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific carried 91,366 tons of cargo in January, up 21.9 percent from 74,929 tons in January 2005.
   The airline said its freight traffic was boosted by a 14.4 percent increase in capacity with two additional freighters joining its fleet and new services commencing to Shanghai, Dallas and Atlanta.
   Cathay Pacific’s cargo load factor was up 0.8 points to 61.9 percent, reflecting “that far more goods are being exported from southern China through Hong Kong than are being imported from the United States and Europe.”
   “Cargo growth in January got a boost from the pre-holiday peak, the addition of two freighters and new services to the U.S. and Shanghai,” said Ron Mathison, Cathay Pacific’s director and general manager cargo. “Yet underlying demand is spiky and somewhat unpredictable with continued uncertainty over the imposition of quotas on Chinese-made garments in Europe and the U.S. Business will likely be weaker in February.”