Grandstar Cargo International Airlines (GD), the joint venture launched by Sinotrans Air Transportation Development Co. and Korean Air (KE) ( ATW Daily News, June 30, 2008 ), is expected to be liquidated due to continuous operating losses.

According to a company insider, the cargo carrier has a total debt of CNY380 million ($ 59.5 million).

Early this year, GD suspended operations while Sinotrans and KE looked for investors to takeover, to no avail.

Other Chinese cargo carriers are also facing troubles due to a cargo recession in the domestic market. Jade Cargo International—a Lufthansa Cargo (LHC)/Shenzhen Airlines (ZH) joint venture that temporarily suspended operations in March—has signed a letter of intent with China’s UniTop Group to restructure the troubled carrier ( ATW Daily News, March 2 ).

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Chinese airlines’ cargo traffic volume dipped 7.3% to 1.6 million tonnes in the first four months of this year.