Core Viewpoint - The aviation industry is experiencing a continuous digestion of existing supply, with aircraft utilization rates exceeding 2019 levels during peak season, indicating a potential slowdown in supply growth in the future. The significant increase in international routes and limited domestic capacity growth suggest an optimization of the domestic competitive landscape, with high passenger load factors likely to improve ticket prices. Favorable oil prices and exchange rates are expected to lead to a "not-so-slow" trend in Q4, with a significant reduction in losses anticipated for the aviation industry by Q4 2025 and a release of profit elasticity in 2026 [1]. Group 1: Flight and Passenger Volume - Flight and passenger volume growth: In Q3 2025, overall, domestic, international, and regional flight volumes increased by 3%/2%/12%/7% year-on-year, while overall, domestic, international, and regional passenger volumes grew by 3.90%/2.84%/15.31%/-2.37% year-on-year [1]. - Airlines' capacity deployment: Except for Juneyao Airlines, overall capacity investment increased, focusing on international routes. In Q3 2025, ASK (Available Seat Kilometers) for major airlines showed year-on-year growth of 1.9%/5.7%/6.0%/4.4%/14.1%/-1.4% [2]. - Passenger turnover growth outpaced available seat kilometers growth, with load factors remaining high. In Q3 2025, passenger turnover for major airlines increased by 3.6%/6.2%/8.9%/4.2%/14.0%/-0.4% year-on-year, with industry load factors for July to September averaging 84.5%/87.5%/86.3%, up 0.5/0.6/2.4 percentage points year-on-year [2]. Group 2: Revenue and Cost Analysis - Revenue growth driven by capacity increase and passenger volume: In Q3 2025, total operating revenue for major airlines grew by 0.9%/3.0%/3.1%/1.8%/6.0%/-1.9% year-on-year [3]. - Decrease in oil prices alleviated fuel costs, while capacity investment diluted fixed costs, although variable costs increased. In Q3 2025, operating costs for major airlines increased by 0.07%/1.63%/1.51%/-1.43%/8.74%/-0.46% year-on-year [3]. - Revenue per available seat kilometer decreased, but the decline in costs was generally greater than the decline in revenue. In Q3 2025, revenue per available seat kilometer for major airlines decreased by 1.03%/2.55%/2.72%/2.41%/7.09%/0.47%/5.28%, while costs decreased by 1.84%/3.86%/4.26%/5.54%/4.70%/8.21% [3]. Group 3: Profitability and Market Outlook - Favorable oil prices and exchange rates positively impacted net profits. In Q3 2025, the average price of aviation kerosene was 5593 RMB/ton, down 11.05% year-on-year, and the USD/CNY exchange rate decreased by 0.74%, affecting net profits of major airlines [4]. - Slightly better-than-expected net profits for China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines. In Q3 2025, net profits for major airlines were 36.76/38.40/35.34/27.88/11.67/5.84/3.69 billion RMB, with year-on-year growth rates of -11.31%/+20.26%/34.37%/-0.75%/-6.17%/-25.29%/+31.60% [4]. Group 4: Investment Recommendations - Investment themes include performance elasticity from ticket price increases, recommending major airlines with larger fleets and strong cyclical attributes, as well as Hainan Airlines benefiting from policy advantages and Juneyao Airlines with optimal route networks among private carriers [5]. - Emphasis on the certainty of operational performance, recommending airlines with stable subsidies like China Express Airlines and those with clear cost advantages and neutral exchange rate exposure like Spring Airlines [5].

Group 1: Industry Overview - The aviation sector is identified as a cyclical strengthening variety within the transportation sector, with a shift in macro expectations likely to catalyze market activity [1] - The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is implementing policies to curb disorderly competition and guide rational pricing, which, along with optimized flight slot structures, is expected to improve the domestic aviation supply-demand relationship over the next 2-3 years [1] - The supply side is constrained by aging fleets, with over 15% of aircraft being over 15 years old, and a projected annual growth rate of only about 3% for the domestic fleet from 2020 to 2024, significantly lower than the 8% growth during the 13th Five-Year Plan [1] Group 2: Demand Potential - The resilience of aviation demand is highlighted, with passenger transport volume reaching 582 million from January to September 2025, a 17% increase compared to 2019, and a seat occupancy rate of 84.9%, surpassing pre-pandemic levels [2] - Domestic market recovery is steady, with flight and passenger numbers increasing by 13% and 19% respectively compared to 2019, and ticket prices stabilizing with a 4.3% year-on-year increase in October [2] - International routes are also recovering, with passenger transport volume reaching 102% of the 2019 level, driven by the expansion of visa-free policies and improved customs facilitation [2]

Investment Rating - The report maintains an "Overweight" rating for the transportation sector [8] Core Views - The express delivery sector is expected to see significant profit recovery due to an early price increase trend, while the aviation sector is still at the bottom of the economic cycle, with potential for mid-term improvements in supply and demand [1][2][3] Summary by Sections Express Delivery - In June, the retail sales and express delivery volumes showed year-on-year increases of 5.3% and 15.8% respectively, although the growth rate has slowed compared to May [3] - The price increase trend has started in core grain-producing areas, which could lead to significant profit recovery for express delivery companies if this trend spreads across all price ranges [3][10] - Key companies recommended include ZTO Express, YTO Express, and Shunfeng Express [10] Aviation - The summer travel season has shown weak performance, with domestic ticket prices declining by 7.5% year-on-year, despite a slight increase in passenger load factor [2][16] - The aviation sector is currently at a low point, but improvements in supply growth and demand could enhance profitability in the medium term [26] - Recommended stocks include China National Aviation and Huaxia Airlines, which are expected to benefit from supply-demand improvements [26] Logistics - The logistics sector is experiencing an early price increase in express delivery, and the bulk supply chain is expected to recover alongside rising commodity prices [3][65] - The cross-border e-commerce logistics sector is showing resilience as tariff impacts diminish [3] Shipping and Ports - In July, shipping rates for container shipping and oil transport declined, while dry bulk shipping rates increased due to seasonal demand [35][36] - The report anticipates stable supply-demand dynamics in August, with shipping rates expected to remain volatile [35] Road and Rail - The road transport sector is under pressure due to rising risk preferences and potential impacts from upstream industry dynamics [5] - Rail transport is expected to see flat growth in passenger traffic during the summer, with ongoing observations needed for the impact of upstream industry changes [5]