South Africa's Richards Bay Coal Terminal Ships Record 70.2 Million Tons in 2013

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Coal shipments out of South Africa's Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) reached a record 70.2 million tons in 2013, a 3% increase over the 8.3 million tons in 2012.

The improvement was supported by the national Transnet Freight Rail's (TFR) performance. TFR also had a record year, with 70.5 million tons railed to RBCT, a 3% improvement over 2012's 68.5 million tons.

Asia accounted for 75% of South African thermal coal shipments, which was 3% lower than in 2012.

Thermal coal prices generally continued their declining trend in 2013. Delivered prices into Europe (AP 12 benchmark price reference) fell below $75 per ton in June 2013, their lowest level in three years. Some lost ground was regained with an average $84.3 per ton for the fourth quarter.

For the year, the average AP 12 price index was $81.5 per ton. The average AP 14 index (free on board (FOB), Richards Bay) fell below $75 per ton in June 2013, while the average for the year fell about 14% to $80 per ton, closing at $85 per ton.

Overall lower prices have forced producers to seek productivity gains and ramp up volumes in order to reduce unit costs.

In conjunction with newly commissioned infrastructure projects, this has resulted in strong supply-side performance by 6% and 18%, respectively against the U.S. dollar, providing some relief for producers.

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