Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) today released its tonnage throughput for February 2010. A total of 180,033 tons were handled in the month, representing a strong year-on-year growth of 34.7%. Cumulative tonnage for the first two months of the year was 392,656 tonnes, up 42.1% year-on-year.

Export volume for February was 91,800 tons, up 42.2% year-on-year. Total export volume for January and February was 207,097 tons, representing a year-on-year growth of 47.7%.

Import volume for February was 50,536 tons, up 31.0% against February last year. Aggregate import volume for the first two months of 2010 was 110,829 tons, representing a year-on-year growth of 47.3%.

The transshipment volume was 37,697 tons in February, indicating a year-on-year growth of 23.6%. Cumulative transshipment tonnage for the first two months was 74,730 tonnes, up 22.7% against the same period last year.

Lilian Chan, General Manager, Marketing and Customer Service said, 'Driven by the surge in air cargo traffic before the Chinese New Year as a result of the stabilizing economy, tonnage throughput for the first two months of 2010 has achieved a record high and even reached the pre-downturn level. While we see positive signs of some recovery in early 2010, we remain cautious on the outlook for the rest of the year. At Hactl, we will continue to deliver the best air cargo handling services to our airline customers and make sure that we are ready when the market fully recovers.'

The summary of the export, import and transshipment volumes is tabulated as follows: