Australia's non-coking coal exports show strong growth in Aug'24

Australia's non-coking coal shipments witnessed a significant m-o-m increase in August 2024, reaching 19.05 million tonnes (mnt), up 16% from 16.42 mnt in July 2024. On a y-o-y basis, exports saw a robust 25.61% growth compared to 15.16 mnt in August 2023. Cumulatively, between January and August 2024, shipments edged up by 2.34% y-o-y to 131.7 mnt from 128.69 mnt during the same period in 2023.

Exports to Japan surge, Thailand sees highest growth

Australian thermal coal exports to Japan saw a remarkable 43.46% m-o-m growth in August 2024, rising to 7.66 mnt from 5.34 mnt in July 2024. Exports to China climbed by 10.82% m-o-m to 5.86 mnt in August 2024 from 5.29 mnt the previous month.

In contrast, exports to other Asian markets declined. Shipments to Taiwan fell by 17.96% to 1.61 mnt in August 2024, while exports to South Korea experienced a steeper drop of 35.73%, totalling just 0.84 mnt. Vietnam saw the sharpest decline, with exports plunging by 41.87% to 0.63 mnt. Meanwhile, exports to Malaysia dipped by 32.81% to 0.32 mnt.

Thailand stood out with a near-doubling of imports, which soared by 98.65% m-o-m to 0.56 mnt in August 2024 from 0.28 mnt in July 2024. India's imports remained flat at 0.17 mnt.

Port-wise export breakdown for August 2024

Among the major ports, Newcastle saw a 15.51% m-o-m rise in exports, shipping 13.75 mnt in August 2024, up from 11.91 mnt in July 2024. Gladstone also reported a similar increase of 15.57% m-o-m, with exports growing to 1.69 mnt.

Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT) saw a striking 179.75% m-o-m surge to 1.44 mnt in August 2024 from just 0.51 mnt in July 2024. However, Brisbane experienced a significant 66.31% decline m-o-m, with shipments falling to 0.10 mnt.

Meanwhile, Abbot Point registered a decline of 10.71% m-o-m, with exports dropping to 1.63 mnt.