trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/_X4bTeD7VSsSFc7eMqxQpA2 content esgSubNav
In This List

US coal exports total 5.9 million tonnes in July, down 18.3% from previous month

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Research

US utility commissioners: Who they are and how they impact regulation

Blog

Q&A: Datacenters: Energy Hogs or Sustainability Helpers?


US coal exports total 5.9 million tonnes in July, down 18.3% from previous month

U.S. coal exports totaled about 5.9 million tonnes in July, down 18.3% from June and down 31.9% from the year-ago week, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Sept. 4.

Through seven months of the year, U.S. exports were down 15.7% from the same point a year ago.

South Korea was the biggest importer of U.S. coal, taking 813,475 tonnes in July, followed by Japan with 609,315 tonnes and Brazil with 524,380 tonnes. This compares with June exports when Japan imported the most U.S. coal, with 829,443 tonnes, followed by the Netherlands with 783,972 tonnes and India with 765,852 tonnes.

Metallurgical exports dropped the most, down 29.5% from June with 3.3 million tonnes of exports. From the year-ago month, exports were down 23.2%.

Metallurgical coal exports were down 10.7% year over year in July.

In total exports, metallurgical coal shipments comprised 56.3%, compared with 65.3% in June, with thermal coal making up the remaining 43.7% of shipments.

Brazil imported the most U.S. metallurgical coal, taking in 515,070 tonnes, compared with 656,265 tonnes in June and 518,992 in the year-ago month.

Canada followed, importing 454,722 tonnes of metallurgical coal, compared with 354,250 tonnes in June and 524,319 in July 2018. Ukraine was the No. 3 importer with 350,759 tonnes imported in July, up from 286,283 tonnes in June and up from 346,369 tonnes in the year-ago month.

Bituminous exports dropping

Bituminous U.S. exports totaled 1.7 million tonnes in July, down 21% from June and down 53.1% from the year-ago month. Through seven months, bituminous exports were down 20.8% compared with the year-ago period.

The top bituminous importers in July were Japan, Egypt and India, with 453,265 tonnes, 386,756 tonnes and 231,988 tonnes, respectively.

Japanese bituminous imports were up compared with June's shipments of 155,640 tonnes and the year-ago imports of 370,335 tonnes.

Subbituminous exports totaled 754,091 tonnes in July, up 150% from June and up 29.6% from the year-ago month. Through July, exports were down 27.7% from the year-ago period.

South Korea was the top subbituminous importer in July, taking 540,162 tonnes, compared with 226,095 tonnes in June and 257,712 tonnes in the year-ago month.

Mexico followed, importing 132,481 tonnes in July, down from 75,565 tonnes in June and down from 153,124 tonnes in July 2018. Japan was the third-largest importer, taking 44,980 tonnes, compared with no imports in both June and the year-ago month.