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US coking coal exports decline in April

  • Market: Coking coal
  • 10/06/19

US coking coal exports in April totalled 4.22mn t, a drop of 21pc year on year, driven down by slower shipments to Europe and the absence of exports to China, data from the US Census Bureau shows.

Export volumes were also down by 15.2pc compared with March.

Exports to western Europe reached 855,761t in April, down by 41.1pc on the year, with no shipments being made to Germany and the UK in April and a decrease in volumes exported to France and Italy. But an increase in shipments to the Netherlands by 26.7pc on the year to 618,871t helped support overall volumes shipped to Europe.

Exports to Poland increased by 74.9pc on the year to reach 123,953t, as domestic production disruptions continue to support demand. But volumes have slowed compared with March, when the US shipped 202,685t of coking coal to Poland.

The US exported 82,500t to Turkey, down by 80.1pc, reflecting the increasingly challenging market conditions in the region. Cost pressures have also seen Turkish mills turn to cheaper alternative sources such as Russia and Columbia.

Exports to China had appeared to be recovering in the first quarter buoyed by supply problems in Australia, after exports slumped in the second half of 2018 when China imposed an additional 25pc tax on imports of US coal. But there were no coking coal shipments to China in April, compared with 311,700t in the same month last year. Ahead of trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing in May, some US coking coal exporters had shipped more stocks to China. But the talks broke down later that month, forcing sellers to absorb China's 3pc import duty and 25pc import tariff in order to sell the cargoes to Chinese buyers.

Exports to Ukraine totalled 643,355t, up by 32.5pc on the year. This figure is set to rise in the coming months, with Ukrainian steelmakers showing increased interest in US material in light of Russia's tighter restrictions on exports of coking coal and metallurgical coke to Ukraine, after a permitting process came into effect on 1 June.

Shipments to Brazil remained largely steady in April, at 662,659t, compared with 680,299t in the same month last year. The most recent tender season for Brazilian mills has drawn to a close, with US producers overall seeing improved demand this year. Requirements emerging from Brazilian mills have increased this year, with shipping periods extending to six months or even a year from the month-to-month buying seen last year.

US coking coal exportst
Apr 19Apr 18Mar 19
Brazil662,659680,299524,915
Ukraine643,355500,053288,426
Netherlands618,871488,296322,571
Japan461,442374,466699,721
China311,700175,000
India260,663579,740641,777
Turkey82,500431,54271,750
Poland123,95370,849202,685
Germany 104,27087,652
Italy50,401275,846257,161
France40,441190,832151,442
UK76,646121,641
Others1,278,2431,259,0201,434,435
Total4,222,5285,343,5594,979,176

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29/01/25

Australia’s BCC on track to meet coal sales target

Australia’s BCC on track to meet coal sales target

Sydney, 29 January (Argus) — Australian coal producer Bowen Coking Coal (BCC) is on track to meet its 1.6mn-1.9mn t sales guidance for the year to June 30, but low stockpiles and rail and port access could hinder the target. The Queensland coal producer managed record sales of 544,000t of coal in October-December , but cut its stockpiles to 127,000t on 31 December from 172,000t on 30 September. These stockpiles were the lowest end-of-quarter levels since BCC started producing in late 2022, and might need to be rebuilt in January-June, weighing on sales. Sales could also be impacted by increased vessel arrivals at Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal, which BCC ships through, and increased wet weather forecast for February-April . BCC is negotiating to secure more port and rail capacity, although it has met its "near-term" requirements. The firm's managed production ran at a rate of about 3mn t/yr run of mine (ROM) in October-December, down from the 5mn t/yr ROM rate it targeted for 2024 in early 2023 , but at the top end of guidance of 2.7mn-3mn t/yr to 30 June. Wet weather in Queensland has seen the premium for top-grade coking coal decline relative to second-tier hard coking coal owing to lower availability, according to BCC. Argus last assessed the premium hard coking coal price at $185/t fob Australia on 27 January at a premium of $34.95/t to lower-grade hard coking coal. This premium is down from an average of $39.24/t for January and $37.52/t for October-December, but above the $24.59/t average in July-September. Non-premium hard coking coal prices fell to a $15/t premium to high-grade thermal coal in early September, before widening to nearly $40/t on 24 January. Thermal coal sales made up 42.5pc of BCC's sales in October-December, with the rest coking coal, up from 40pc in July-September. BCC has the option to swing some production between thermal and lower grades of coking coal but this takes time to implement. Argus last assessed the hard coking coal price at $151.05/t fob Australia on 27 January, down from $157.90/t on 30 December and at the lowest level since June 2021. Argus last assessed high-grade 6,000 kcal/kg NAR thermal coal at $113.85/t fob Newcastle on 24 January, down from $123.44/t on 27 December. By Jo Clarke Bowen Coking Coal (BCC) Oct-Dec '24 July-Sep '24 Oct-Dec '23 Jul-Dec '24 Jul-Dec '23 BCC managed production (kt) ROM 788.8 768.8 785.2 1,557.6 1,425.6 Saleable coal 482.4 443.5 478.7 925.9 1,023.8 BCC sales volumes (kt) Metallurgical coal 312.8 248.8 264.8 561.5 567.4 Thermal coal 231.1 166.0 238.4 397.1 492.4 Total 543.9 414.8 503.2 958.6 1,059.8 BCC's average realised price ($/t) Metallurgical coal 165.8 179.2 210.0 171.7 192.0 Thermal coal 88.5 93.4 100.3 138.1 144.7 Argus average prices ($/t fob Australia) Premium hard low-volatile coking coal 202.6 210.5 333.6 206.5 298.4 Hard coking coal 165.1 185.9 277.0 175.6 250.6 6,000 kcal/kg thermal coal 137.5 138.4 139.8 137.9 147.3 — BCC, Argus Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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CSX expects continued coal challenges in 2025


23/01/25
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23/01/25

CSX expects continued coal challenges in 2025

Cheyenne, 23 January (Argus) — Eastern US railroad CSX is expecting coal market weakness to linger into this year, weighing on the company's overall volumes. A large part of the coal volume decline could come this quarter because of production issues at some mines, CSX executives said today. Later on in 2025, coal-fired power plant retirements may weigh on CSX's domestic coal volumes. The carrier did not give specific volume guidance for 2025. CSX hauled 82.7mn short tons (75mn metric tonnes) of coal in 2024, down by 3pc from 2023. The railroad's domestic coal shipments dropped by 14pc to 38.9mn st and offset a 9pc increase in shipments to export terminals, marking the first time in the company's history that more than half of CSX's coal carloads were headed to export terminals. In the fourth quarter, both CSX's domestic and export coal volumes were lower when compared with a year earlier. CSX loaded 9.6mn st of coal headed to domestic customers last quarter, down from 10.9mn st in the final three months of 2023. The railroad's export coal volumes dipped to 10.5mn st from 10.8mn st. CSX attributed the fourth quarter year-on-year declines to reduced production, including planned and unplanned outages at customer facilities. The company also "navigated the effects" of lower seaborne coal pricing and continued to encounter lower domestic demand, primarily from utility customers, CSX chief commercial officer Kevin Boone said. "More recently, we have seen colder winter weather reducing coal utility stockpiles", which could provide some opportunity for domestic utility coal inventory rebuilding in the short term, Boone said. But upcoming power plant retirements will hit CSX's domestic coal shipments, and production issues will drag on overall coal volumes in the first half of 2025. CSX did not name the mines experiencing production problems. CSX services Core Natural Resources' Leer South metallurgical coal mine in West Virginia, which was recently taken off line as the company works on and recovers from a fire that started on 13 January. CSX also expects lower seaborne coal prices to drag down the company's revenue in the first half of 2025. The railroad's fourth quarter coal revenue fell by 20pc to $499mn and full year 2024 revenue decreased by 10pc to $2.25bn. Average revenue per coal railcar in the fourth quarter decreased by 14pc to $2,788/car. In addition to decreased volumes and seaborne prices, CSX's fourth quarter coal revenue was negatively affected by disruptions from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which hit the US southeast at the end of September, and Hurricane Milton in early October. The storms also affected the company's overall fourth quarter revenue and service metrics. CSX's intermodal trip plan performance — which compares actual movements to the railroad's plans — averaged 84.9pc, compared with 94.7pc a year earlier. The company's carload movements were about 75.5pc of what it had planned, down from 84.7pc in the final three months of 2023. Still, CSX's overall railroad volume last quarter rose by 1pc from a year earlier, to 1.58mn carloads and intermodal units such as chemicals, minerals and intermodal shipments topped fourth quarter 2023 levels. CSX attributed the gains in chemicals shipments to increased volumes of plastics, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. The company's international intermodal volumes were supported by higher port volumes and "growth with key customers", while CSX's domestic intermodal shipments increased primarily because of growth in transcontinental shipments. CSX automotive shipments declined. Total CSX revenue for the quarter decreased by 4pc to $3.54bn because of lower fuel surcharges, and coal revenue outweighed gains in merchandise and intermodal volume growth. For all of 2024, CSX's volume was 2pc higher than in 2023, at 6.28mn carloads and intermodal units, while revenue dipped by 1pc to $14.5bn. CSX cycle times in 2025 are likely to be greater than they were last year, when Helene and Milton and the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, temporarily disrupted traffic. By Courtney Schlisserman Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Poland's JSW met coal mine fire halts operations


22/01/25
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22/01/25

Poland's JSW met coal mine fire halts operations

Warsaw, 22 January (Argus) — A fire caused by methane gas ignition at Polish firm JSW's Szczyglowice coking coal mine today has halted longwall operations and left 16 miners injured. The fire occurred at a depth of 805m, JSW said. An investigation team has been set up to assess the accident and determine the future of the affected area, the firm added. Szczyglowice mine has an estimated 185.1mn t of coal reserves and is part of the Knurow-Szczyglowice mining complex, located south of Gliwice city. The mine produces both met coal and thermal coal. Last year approximately two-thirds of its output was met coal and the remainder thermal coal although JSW has been attempting to increase the share of met coal production. Fires and accidents are frequent at JSW mines, having operated at depths reaching 1,300m. Last year the company declared force majeure on coking coal production and slashed planned output by 850,000t after accidents at the Budryk and Pniowek mines in April 2024 and December 2023, respectively The Szczyglowice mine fire may complicate JSW's ambitions to restore its met coal production to 14.5mn t/yr by 2026 from 9.9mn t last year. Stocks of undelivered met coal at Polish coal mines have recovered from a 2024 low of less than 200,000t in August to 364,000t at the end of November last year, similar level as in November 2023, according to the most recent data from the Polish government's ARP mining research firm. By Tomasz Stepien Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Consol, Arch shareholders approve merger


09/01/25
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09/01/25

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Viewpoint: US utilities worry over railcar supply


02/01/25
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02/01/25

Viewpoint: US utilities worry over railcar supply

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