Platts to discontinue two Capesize coal freight assessments

Following market feedback, S&P Global Platts will discontinue two Capesize thermal coal freight assessments from Jan. 4, 2021, due to the absence of spot market activity on these routes and changes in trade flows.

The two freight assessments are the PC12 Hampton Roads, US East Coast to Qingdao, North China route and the PC4 Richards Bay, South Africa to Rotterdam, Netherlands route.

Platts first proposed to discontinue these assessments in a subscriber note published on Aug. 19. (http://plts.co/1ZF530ragMK)

Platts trade flow software cFlow showed only seven Capesize ships have moved coal from US east coast ports to China over 2018 and 2019. According to analysts' estimates, the seaborne thermal coal flow from the US east coast to China for many years has been less than 500,000 mt/year.

Similarly, Europe's thermal coal demand has declined considerably and it largely sources its needs from Colombia instead of South Africa. Platts observed that over the last five years, the movement of coal from Richards Bay, South Africa has dwindled massively, resulting in the drying up of any spot activity.

The affected assessments and their price database codes are as follows:

PC12 Hampton Roads, US East Coast to Qingdao, North China, 140 kt, CIVAC00 (daily)

PC12 Hampton Roads, US East Coast to Qingdao, North China, 140 kt, CIVAC03 (monthly average)

PC4 Richards Bay, South Africa to Rotterdam, Netherlands, 150 kt, CIRBN00 (daily)

PC4 Richards Bay, South Africa to Rotterdam, Netherlands, 150 kt, CIRBN03 (monthly average)

These assessments appear in Dry Freight Wire, Dry Freight Wire Monthly, Coal Trader, Platts Shipping Alert fixed pages 610, 611, 628, 629, Platts Tanker Alert fixed pages 3918, 3919, 3930, 3931, Platts Nonferrous Metals Alert pages 3918, 3919, Platts Global Coal Alert page 952, and Platts European Power Alert page 910.

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