Hampton Roads coal exports total 2.1 million st in Feb, down 21% on year: VMA

Houston — Coal exports out of the Hampton Roads terminals in Virginia totaled over 2.1 million st in February, down 22.1% from January, Virginia Maritime Association data showed Monday.

From the year-ago month, exports declined 21%, the twelfth consecutive year on year decrease and the steepest drop in five months. Over January and February, exports totaled about 4.9 million st, down 20.7% compared with the corresponding 2019 period.

The VMA reported exports of nearly 1.2 million st from the Norfolk-based Lamberts Point, owned and operated by Norfolk Southern, down 16.6% month on month and up 8.3% from the year-ago month. Year-on-year, it was the first increase in three months.

Over the first two months of the year, Lambert's Point exports were up 0.5% compared with the same period last year.

Exports from Kinder Morgan's Pier IX totaled 606,883 st in February, up 80.4% from the previous month and the most monthly exports since August 2019. Year-on-year, exports fell 12.4%, the weakest decline in 10 months.

Pier IX exports in January and February were down 36.8% from the same period a year earlier with 943,298 st shipped.

The Newport News-based Dominion Terminal Associates, which is owned by Arch Coal and Contura Energy and served by CSX, exported 361,863 million st, the fewest monthly exports since S&P Global Platts began tracking in 2009.

From January, exports dropped 64%, while year on year they declined 61.2% through the port.

During February, 35 vessels arrived at Hampton Roads, down two month on month and up five from the year-ago month. Additionally, 36 departed from the port, down three from January and up two year on year.