Baltimore Bridge Collapse May Dampen U.S. Coal Exports

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday temporarily halted all shipping traffic from the Port of Baltimore, which could hinder U.S. coal exports moving forward. According to Census Bureau data cited by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the port is the second-largest hub for coal exports in the U.S., accounting for 28% of total U.S. coal exports in 2023, according to the data.

"The interruption in operations in Baltimore may affect the volume of exports this year," the EIA said.

The agency noted that in three of the past five years, annual coal exports from the Port of Baltimore totaled around 20 million short tons, before surging to 28 million short tons in 2023, "mainly because of growing demand for U.S. coal in Asia. Even before the port's closure, we were expecting much slower growth in total U.S. coal exports in 2024, of just 1%."

It is expected that cargo from the port will be diverted to bigger ports along the U.S. East Coast, including the Port of Virginia, the largest coal-export hub in the U.S. In a March 26 statement, the port said it "has a significant amount of experience in handling surges of import and export cargo and is ready to provide whatever assistance we can to the team at the Port of Baltimore."

Although there is no timeline for reopening the Baltimore port, crews began clearing debris from the bridge collapse early Thursday morning. Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world's largest container carrier, said in a March 27 statement it expects "passage to and from Baltimore is at this time impossible and will not be reestablished for several weeks if not months."

Officials said late Wednesday they were pausing the search for the bodies of four workers believed to have fallen into the Patapsco River, and the search will resume once the debris is cleared.

Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has said rebuilding the bridge will not be "quick or easy," but that it will get done, adding that main focus points include reopening the port, tending to supply-chain issues in the meantime and rebuilding the bridge.

President Biden wants the government to pay for the bridge reconstruction, although it remains to be seen whether that has support from Congress. Meanwhile, Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) has submitted a request to the Biden administration for emergency relief funds, "to assist in our work going forward."

For more information on the bridge collapse and its effect on industrial activity in the area, see March 27, 2024, article - Baltimore Bridge Collapse Throws Area's Industry into Uncertainty.

There are two full-service terminals that receive, store, and load coal onto outbound vessels at the Port of Baltimore, according to the EIA: the Curtis Bay Coal Piers served by the CSX Railroad and the CONSOL Energy Baltimore Marine terminal served by both the CSX and Norfolk Southern Railroads. "An attractive feature of the Port of Baltimore is its proximity to the northern Appalachia coal fields in western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. Mines in this region produce both premium quality metallurgical coal and steam coal with a high heat content."

The EIA notes shipments of steam coal, coal that is used mostly for electric power generation and industrial heating, from the Port of Baltimore averaged around 12 million short tons from 2019 to 2022 before surging to 19 million short tons in 2023. Meanwhile, exports of metallurgical coal, which is used as a raw material in steel production, ranged from 6 million short tons to 10 million short tons from 2019 to 2023.

In terms of export destinations, the EIA said the top recipient of U.S. steam coal shipped from Baltimore "by far over the past five years" has been India, adding other major recipients of steam coal include several European countries that are reached by ports in the Netherlands; smaller markets include customers in the Dominican Republic, Canada and Egypt.

Meanwhile, exports of metallurgical coal from the Port of Baltimore within the last five years went to several Asian countries, the EIA said. Japan led with 28% of the metallurgical coal, followed by China and South Korea. Multiple countries in Europe also receive metallurgical coal exported from the port to the Netherlands, in addition to Brazil and Argentina.

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