Coal traffic at Indian ports falls for fourth straight month in Oct’22

Coal traffic (coking and non-coking) handled at Indian ports stood at 24 million tonnes (mnt) in October 2022, down 9% m-o-m, CoalMint data shows. Port traffic fell for the fourth consecutive month due to weak demand from the power and non-power sectors.

Port traffic refers to shipments via imports, exports, and coastal movement between different ports within India. India’s total coal imports fell by 2% m-o-m in October, with decline in shipments of thermal coal.

Thermal coal traffic handled at ports declined by 12% to 18 mnt mainly due to elevated global prices and slowdown in procurement by the manufacturing sector amid heavy rains. Meanwhile, coking coal traffic remained largely unchanged at 6 mnt amid subdued steel demand in the country.

The country’s coal output rose to 66 mnt during October, up 14% m-o-m. Output from CIL rose sharply by 16% m-o-m, followed by Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).

Qty in mnt

Key ports handling thermal coal 

As per CoalMint data, the highest decline in thermal coal traffic was seen at Krishnapatnam and Paradip ports by 26% and 12%, respectively with decline in vessel arrivals. However, there was a sharp rise in coal traffic at Mundra Port.

Coking coal traffic at major ports  

Dhamra and Haldia received the same number of vessels at 1.18 mnt in October, while traffic at Jaigarh Port declined the most to 0.59 mnt. Paradip port saw a major decline in traffic by 33% m-o-m.

Port traffic up in Jan-Oct’22 

Qty in mnt

Coal traffic at Indian ports rose by 10% y-o-y during January-October, 2022 with the maximum rise in thermal coal. This year’s hotter-than-expected summer forced the government to permit greater use of imported coal to satisfy the needs of power plants.

Thermal coal traffic increased despite the hike in thermal coal prices following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. India used 400.4 billion units of electricity during the summer of 2022, an increase of 17% y-o-y.

Outlook

Due to the ongoing volatility in global coal prices and a lacklustre steel market, India’s coal traffic is expected to stay in the same range in the coming months.