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 - Second Quarter of 2021

Release Date: Apr 20, 2021

REPORT SUMMARY

A notable improvement was seen in the overall results across all areas. Local air traders are in general conservatively optimistic towards the development of international trade in Q2 2021 with the index rising to 38.7.

• Positive momentum was seen across the regions. Supported by the strong growth on imports and exports, Americas recorded the highest index among the regions. Another noteworthy development is the shipment urgency attribute reaching the level of 50, which is the first time since mid-2018.
• As the pandemic has been reshaping how people live, more importance has been attached to business-to-commerce (B2C). In this quarter, the B2C market recorded a significant jump to 49 which almost hit the 50 neutral point.
• Food & Beverages remains to be the best performing among the commodities, followed by Watches, Clocks & Jewellery.
• Further improvement has been observed in the local air traders’ business profitability as fewer traders reported loss in Q1 2021.
• The tightened quarantine policy for aircrews flying into Hong Kong and the severe weather in Americas and Europe in early 2021 have tensed up the air and sea freight capacities, 70% of local air traders still prefer to bear a higher cost over relocating exports points, lowering their trade volume or delaying the shipments.

Mr Edmond Lai, Chief Digital Officer of the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), shared, “With COVID-19 showing signs of softening from its peak after the rolling out of vaccination programs since the start of the year, the world is foreseeing a better control of the pandemic moving forward. This has made local air traders more optimistic about the economic outlook. To be in a position to make hay of the anticipated upturn, enterprises must work out ‘resumption plan’ in advance, given the possible challenges from the market rebound on the supply chain operations, market capacity and logistics costs. Digitalisation would remain a key in business operation. To assist Hong Kong enterprises in undertaking this path, the HKSAR Government has announced various support initiatives in the 2021-22 Budget. Enterprises are strongly advised to leverage on the available supports for continuous investment in the development and application of technologies to enhance competitiveness.”

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.