DHL Hong Kong Air Trade Leading Index (DTI)

DHL Hong Kong Air Trade Leading Index ("DTI") is a quarterly survey implemented by the Hong Kong Productivity Council ("HKPC"), and commissioned by DHL Express (Hong Kong) Limited ("DHL").

DTI is the first-of-its-kind in Hong Kong, offering publicly available market intelligence for local enterprises, especially SMEs which typically have limited resources or access to information, enabling all to take reference from a comprehensive business review of the sector in which they operate.

The Overall Index represents the air trade market outlook for the surveying quarter, in respect of import and (re-)export. The research also studies the underlying trends in business attributes, markets and air-freighted commodities, thus assisting local enterprises in arriving at a primed view of the business outlook of their markets.

DTI - Fourth Quarter of 2021

Release Date: 20 Oct, 2021

REPORT SUMMARY

The overall index hit its three-and-a-half-year high, thanks to strong export to US, robust consumption, and growing freight demand in the upcoming traditional peak season. Rises were observed in multiple areas.

• The overall air trade index rose to 49.0 points with noticeable increases in both exports and imports.
• International air trade saw gains to its highest level this year across multiple regions though the respondents struck a slightly more negative note over the China-US trade relation.
• Although the air trade index undergoes a swift recovery, local air traders’ profitability status of Q3 was similar to the previous quarter with 70% reported a gain or breakeven in their business, indicating no significant improvement on the operating environment.
• The persistent COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the global freight capacity. However, 68% of the respondents said they would keep using air or ocean freight as usual despite the increase in costs.

Mr Edmond Lai, Chief Digital Officer of HKPC, shared, “As the impact of the pandemic has diminished in major global economies, the overall index reached its three-and-a-half-year peak and had risen for sixth consecutive quarters. Traditional festive seasons such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Chinese New Year are expected to lead to strong demand again for international trade in the last quarter of 2021. Meanwhile, the long-term competitiveness of local air traders is going to receive a boost as the Chief Executive sets out in her latest Policy Address to promote wider application of digital technology in business processes and operations by the maritime and port industry for the development of a ‘Smart Port’, in enhancing the city’s status as an international transportation centre.”

“As such, global traders and cross-border retailers need to formulate long-term strategy and strengthen their agility to cope with both predictable and unforeseeable market changes. Hong Kong enterprises have already demonstrated their exceptional abilities in capturing the e-commerce growth, but handling the demand surge in peak season has never been easy without advance planning and proper tools. By leveraging technologies such as data analytics, robotic process automation, collaboration tools and digital customer experience enhancement solutions, enterprises can build the cornerstones to map out their future successes,” he added.

Download the latest report of DTI (PDF version) (Text-only version).

Download of DTI Quarterly Report

Methodology

Index Calculation: Index = [100 x (Percentage of samples responding "Positive") ] + [50 x (Percentage of samples responding "Neutral") ] + [0 x (Percentage of samples responding "Negative") ]

Readings

• Ratios of collected responses are used to form the indices.
• An index value above 50 indicates an overall positive outlook while a reading below 50 represents an overall negative outlook for the surveyed quarter.
• The further the reading is from 50, the more positive or negative the outlook is.

Demographics

• Respondents are Hong Kong-based companies associated with either inbound or outbound air trade. It includes Watches, Clocks & Jewellery, Apparel & Clothing Accessories, Electronic Products & parts, Gifts, Toys & Houseware, Food & Beverage and Others (including courier service and other items which do not belong to the categories listed above).
• Over 600 samples are collected in each quarter.
• Sample companies are randomly selected from publicly available directories.

Disclaimer

This report contains survey result based on research findings.  HKPC will not be liable for any loss, mistake, delay, action or non-action by viewers of this report.

Enquiry

For more details about the Index, please contact HKPC at tel. (852) 2788 5306.