China's Coal Output Reaches 2,691 Million Metric Tons in First Three Quarters of 2011, an 11.6% Increase

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources China (Beijing, China)--In the first three quarters of 2011, China's economic operation showed overall stability and the market demand and supply was basically balanced. Both production and sales of coal continued to grow rapidly. China's coal output in the first three quarters reached 2,691 million metric tons, an increase of 11.6% from the same period last year, and the national coal sales volume was 2,636 million metric tons, an increase of 13.1% according to the "Analysis Report on Coal Economic Operation for the First Three of Quarters 2011," which was issued by China Coal Industry Association on October 20, 2011.

The national coal transportation volume also experienced a rapid growth. In the first three quarters of 2011, the national accumulative coal transportation volume via the railway system reached 1.68 billion metric tons, an increase of 13% from the same period last year. The transportation volume of the Datong-Qinghuangdao Railway reached 326 million metric tons, a 7% increase, while that of the Houma-Yueshan Railway reached 137 million metric tons, a 2.2% increase. The coal shipment volume via major ports nationwide continued its rapid growth. The national accumulative coal transportation volume reached 495 million metric tons, a 20.2% increase, of which the transportation volume of the Qinghuangdao Port reached 189 million metric tons, a 14.7% increase, and that of Tangshan Port, including Jingtang Port and Caofeidian Port, reached 91.33 million metric tons, a 36.3% jump.

Coal stockpiles nationwide stayed at a normal level. As of the end of September 2011, the total social coal stockpile reached 225 million metric tons, an increase of 7.74 million metric tons, or 3.6% compared with the initial value in 2011. The stockpile in coal enterprises reached 50.2 million metric tons, a drop of 800,000 metric tons, or 1.6%; the stockpile in key power generation enterprises reached 64.55 million metric tons, an increase of 8.48 million metric tons, or 15.1%; and the stockpile in major ports reached 23.22 million metric tons, a drop of 510,000 metric tons, or 2.1% compared with the initial value in 2011.

Starting in March 2011, China's coal imports have been rising. In the first three quarters of 2011, accumulative coal imports reached 123 million metric tons, an increase of 1.9% from the same period last year; the accumulative coal exports reached 12.12 million metric tons, a drop of 19.7%; and the net imports reached 111 million metric tons, an increase of 5%.

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