Cathay Pacific Airways says that traffic figures for June combined with its subsidiary Dragonair show a rise in cargo and passenger volume over the same month last year as the airline entered the summer peak season.

The amount of cargo lagged behind the corresponding increase in capacity for the month, a statement said.

The amount of cargo carried by Cathay Pacific and Dragonair last month was 129,169 tonnes, up 1.3 per cent over June 2006. The cargo load factor fell by 3.4 percentage points to 67 per cent. Capacity, measured in terms of available cargo and mail tonne kilometres, saw a 7.8 per cent jump.

In the first half of the year the combined cargo tonnage fell by 0.4 per cent compared to a capacity rise of 4.6 per cent.

"Demand remains high out of mainland China and loads on our long-haul flights to North America and Europe have been satisfactory," said Cathay cargo chief Ron Mathison. "The continued influx of capacity into the region has been keeping down freight rates, while competition from marine cargo is having an impact, particularly on North Asian routes. However, we remain confident about the long-term prospects for airfreight in the region and expect to see some pickup soon," Mr Mathison said.