Canada's Ridley Terminals December coal exports soar on met demand

Coal exports from Ridley Terminals in Prince Rupert, British Colombia, were 640,857 mt in December, soaring 607.2% higher on the month but flat from the year-ago month, according to Jan. 25 data from the Prince Rupert Port Authority.

The total combines metallurgical and thermal coal and was 3.2% above the five-year average for December.

For full-year 2021, roughly 5.69 million mt of coal was exported, down from 10.98 million mt in 2020. It was the lowest since 3.02 million mt in 2016, a five-year low.

Met coal exports from Ridley Terminals in December were 558,693 mt, up 516.6% from the previous month. Compared with the year-ago month, met coal shipments were 36.3% higher. Full-year met coal shipments were 4.48 million mt, a four-year low and the lowest since 4.01 million mt in 2017. Compared with 2020, met coal shipments were 22.4% lower in 2021.

Thermal coal exports totaled 82,164 million mt in December, compared with zero in the previous month. Full-year thermal exports were 1.22 million in 2021, down 76.7% from 5.21 million mt in 2020. Compared with the year-ago month, thermal exports fell 64.4% in December.

Petroleum coke exports were 122,489 mt in December, down 51.5% on the month and 14.2% on the year. Full-year petcoke exports totaled 1.58 million mt, up 11.2% from 2020.

Canadian National railroad serves the terminal, which is the closest major North American coal export terminal to Asia.