Cathay Pacific Airways has seen a surge in the amount of cargo and mail uplifted in June compared to the same month last year.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair combined handled 151,130 tonnes of cargo and mail in June, an increase of 7.1 per cent compared to the same month last year. The cargo and mail load factor rose by 1.6 percentage points to 64.3 per cent.

Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, rose by 2.1 per cent while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres (RTKs) increased by 4.8 per cent.

In the first six months of 2016, the tonnage carried fell by 0.3 per cent to 865,870 tonnes against a 0.6 per cent increase in capacity and a 2.3 per cent drop in RTKs, while the load factor was 62.2 per cent, a fall of 1.6 percentage points on 2015.

The airline’s chief executive, Ivan Chu says cargo tonnage has stabilised but yield continues to decline and adds foreign currency movements have also been adverse.

Cathay Pacific general manager for cargo sales and marketing, Mark Sutch says: “Helped by the half-year end rush, the overall tonnage for June was healthy, thanks to growing feed from Asia. The Americas saw a surge in the export of seasonal produce into Asia, particularly from the West Coast.

“Our new Madrid service was well-received by the cargo community and we filled the west- bound leg with consumer goods and carried fresh produce on the return leg. However, overall yield remains challenging, as market supply continues to outstrip demand. We will continue to diversify and develop special products, some of which have shown encouraging results.”