Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) had its second best month this year in October handling 383,000 tonnes which is 4.3 per cent more than during the same month in 2013.

The airport explains that the growth in October was mainly driven by a 15 per cent year-on-year growth in transshipments. March has been its best month with 397,000 tonnes.

However, cargo levels have been volatile since. In September, cargo tonnage had fallen to 364,000 tonnes following 370,000 tonnes in July and 366,000 tonnes in August. After March, cargo slumped to 362,000 tonnes in April and kept going up and then down from May through to September. 

Compared to the months in 2013, October has had the smallest rise in cargo, at 4.3 per cent. Previously, it had been September with its 5.2 per cent increase on 2013. February saw a one per cent decline. In January it was up 5.3 per cent, while March saw the biggest increase at 10.4 per cent.

This was followed by increases of six per cent, 8.3, 7.3, 8.3 and 8.8 in April, May, June, July and August, respectively. It says the increases are due to transhipments to South East Asia and North America. The airport states that in the first 10 months of 2014, it handled 3.6 million tonnes of cargo, representing year-on-year growth of 6.4 per cent, while on a 12 month rolling basis, cargo volume rose 6 per cent to 4.3 million tonnes.