CHINA's big airlines suffered declines in cargo volume in May for the first time this year as domestic, but mostly overseas demand, weakened, according to the Shanghai Daily.

    Cargo volume dropped 4.2 per cent from a year earlier to 447,400 tons in May, including a 16 per cent decline on international routes to 138,700 tons, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

    The Japanese earthquake and tsunami continued to hit trade between China and Japan with cargo volume on the route dropping 17.3 per cent in May from a year earlier. Meanwhile, cargo volume between China and South Korea slumped 44.3 per cent, said the CAAC.

   China Eastern, the country's second largest carrier, delivered 108,360 tons of cargo in the period, dropping 12.68 per cent from a year earlier, and Air China sent 98,490 tons of cargo, edging up 1.3 per cent.

(Resource:http://www.shippingonline.cn)