Japan’s coastal shipping volumes fall in 2024

Market: Coal, Coking coal, LPG, Metals, Oil products
26/02/25

Volumes transported on coastal vessels in Japan fell in 2024 because of a decline in shipments of automobiles, cement and oil and chemical products.

Shipping volumes on cargo ships in the domestic coastal market fell by 2.8pc on the year to around 198mn t in 2024, according to data from the Japan Federation of Coastal Shipping Associations.

The decline partly reflected a drop in vehicle output in the wake of scandals over faulty safety data. Shipping volumes in the automobile sector totalled 44mn t last year, down by 11pc from 2023. Transportation of cement and feedstock materials, such as limestone, fell by 8pc to 25mn t and by 3pc to 45.6mn t respectively over the same period.

But deliveries of coal and coke rose by 12pc to 18.7mn t, as coal demand from the power sector rebounded after maintenance work a year earlier. Transportation volumes of steel products increased by 4.3pc to 36.4mn t over the period.

Operations of coastal tankers also slowed last year. A series of technical problems at domestic refiners created alternative demand for refined products, which would typically lead to an increase in coastal shipping. But the longer voyages needed to deliver such products to distant refineries resulted in a drop in shipping utilisation as a whole, the association said.

Shipments of lighter oil products, such as gasoline, kerosine, jet fuel and diesel, fell by 2pc on the year to 58.7mn kl (1mn b/d) in 2024. Volumes fell as high prices for gasoline and kerosine capped demand for the fuels, despite government subsidies.

An expansion of renewable energy also weighed on oil demand. Tanker deliveries of fuel oil fell by 10pc to 22.5mn kl, pressured by lower demand from the power sector.

Shipments of chemical products dropped by 8pc to 7.2mn kl last year, while deliveries of high-pressured liquids such as LPG and vinyl chloride monomer remained steady at around 6mn t.

The survey covered 58 operators that together account for more than 80pc of total coastal shipping volumes, the association said.

By Motoko Hasegawa

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