February a slow month for Asian air cargo

   The Chinese New Year depressed air freight activity out of Singapore Changi International Airport in February, with the airport seeing 126,500 tons of cargo during the month.
   The activity represented a 12.1-percent, year-over-year decline.
   Air freight in February also showed a decline when compared to January’s 140,297 tons of activity, which represented a 2.5 percent increase when compared to January 2012. Part of this drop in activity can be explained by the shifting holiday. In 2012, the Chinese New Year fell in January; it occurred in February this year.
   Both months, however, show a significant drop off from late last year. In December and November, the airport saw more than 152,000 tons route through its gates each month. The highpoint of the season came in September with 153,704 tons.
   Other Asian airports are experiencing a lack of air cargo activity due to the Chinese New Year. At Hong Kong International Airport, cargo volume fell 13.3 percent, year over year, to 248,000 tons in February. During the month, flight movements actually increased by 4.1 percent.
   When both January and February are taken into account, the airport handled 582,000 tons of cargo, a 3.6-percent uptick compared to the first two months of 2012.   
   Officials at Narita International Airport in Japan will release their February traffic numbers next week, but are expected to paint a similar picture. In January, the airport saw 142,410 tons of international cargo activity. – Jon Ross