Combined steam and coking coal exports
Coal exports through the port of Hampton Roads, Virginia, slumped by 17pc last year from 2013 as low seaborne prices and more robust domestic demand discouraged US shippers.
Combined steam and coking coal exports from Hampton Roads fell to 41.1mn short tons (37.3mn metric tonnes) in 2014 from 49.7mn st a year earlier, the Virginia Maritime Association reported today. December loadings dropped to 2.8mn st from 3.4mn st in the same month of 2013.
Last year's loadings were the lowest since 2010, when Hampton Roads exported 32.8mn st of coal.
Exports from Norfolk Southern's Lamberts Point terminal fell to 16.8mn st from 20.9mn st in 2013. Loadings from Kinder Morgan's Pier IX were off by about the same percentage, declining to 10.8mn st from almost 13.2mn st a year earlier. Nearby Dominion Terminal Associates' export shipments dropped to 13.6mn st from 15.6mn st.
Weak prices and an abundance of coal in international markets have cut US exports. Argus' FOB Hampton Roads assessments for 12,000 Btu/lb, less than 1pc sulfur thermal coal averaged $83.84/metric tonne in 2014, around minimum costs to get Central Appalachian coal to the port. But delivered prices in the key export market of Europe averaged only $75/t, shutting the arbitrage window for US thermal coal in the region.
US coking coal markets meanwhile softened amid competition from Australian exporters and slowing growth in China's steel production. Low-volatile coking coal FOB Hampton Roads averaged $115.93/t last year, down by 17pc from 2013, according to Argus assessments.