US Coal Exports Up 6% M-o-M in Nov’19

US coal exports have ended a series of decline to record an increase of 6% M-o-M to 9.75 MnT during Nov’19, driven by an uptick in demand for both coking and non-coking coal shipments.

Meanwhile, coal volumes continued the fall Y-o-Y for the 10th consecutive month, as it was marked 18% lower on the year from 11.87 MnT in Nov’18.

Demand for US coal have remain subdued where lower exports to Europe, India and South Korea have more than offset the impact of a modest rise in exports to Japan and Latin America.

Besides, the US coal sector has been impacted by a number of bankruptcies, as lower prices eliminate profit margins whereas gradual coal-to-gas switching had also brought down coal’s share as a source of power generation domestically.

During the first 11 months of CY19 (Jan-Nov’19), US coal exports have fallen 15% Y-o-Y to 113.3 MnT compared with 133.7 MnT noted in the year-ago period.

Grade-wise Coal Exports:
Exports of coking coal from the country grew 17% M-o-M to 4.07 MnT in Nov’19 as against 3.48 MnT in Oct’19. The growth was accompanied by a rise in non-coking coal shipments during the month, which attained a 5-month high total in Nov’19.

However, export of the second-largest traded commodity-Pet coke, fell 13% M-o-M to 2.87 MnT in Nov’19 compared with 3.28 MnT in Oct’19.

Source: US Customs | Quantity in MnT

Major Coal Importers:

India and Japan remained the major coal receiver from the US in Nov’19.

Indian coal imports attained a 6-month high total of 1.41 MnT during Nov’19, as it increased 5% M-o-M from 1.34 MnT in Oct’19.

Coal intake by Japan rose 16% M-o-M to 1.11 MnT in Nov’19, which was almost stable Y-o-Y compared with the levels attained in the year-ago month.

Brazil emerged as the third-largest coal receiver during the month with imports of 0.74 MnT, however, despite recording a hefty rise M-o-M, coal volume taken by the country was still marked 11% lower on the year from 0.83 MnT in Nov’18.