China's Coal Output Drops 1.8% to 1.82 Billion Tonnes in First-Half 2014 as Stockpiles Remain High

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources China (Beijing, China)--China's coal output fell 1.8% to 1.82 billion tonnes in the first half of the year from the same period in 2013, according to the China National Coal Association (CNCA). The amount of coal that was sold in the first half of the year fell 2.1% to 1.73 billion tonnes.

For June, coal output fell 2% to 298 million tonnes from the same month a year earlier, while coal that was sold fell 2.3% to 284 million tonnes, according to the CNCA's report.

Due to weak market demand and falling prices, China's coal stockpile has remained high. The social coal stockpile has stayed at more than 300 million tonnes for 31 months successively. Coal producers' stockpiles reached a record high of 99 million tonnes in June, and stockpiles for power producers totaled 79.06 million tonnes, the equivalent of 23 days of consumption. Stockpiles at major ports totaled 52.64 million tonnes, a 39% jump over levels at the beginning of 2014.

China's coal price has continued to fall. On July 18, China's coal price index reached 142.4, a drop of 17.1 points from the same day last year, and was 19.4 points over the value at the beginning of this year. Compared with the highest point in July 2008, the index dropped 36%.

The income of major coal producers during the first five months of the year dropped 6.6% from the same period last year, and profits fell 43.9%. More than 70% of China's coal enterprises were running at a loss, according to preliminary statistics.

In the first half 2014, fixed assets investment in the coal-mining and processing industry fell 5.6% to $31.7 billion from the same period in 2013. Average annual growth by the industry fell 32.3 percentage points compared with the period of 2006-10.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.