Australian non-coking coal export shipments up marginally in H1CY'24

Australia's non-coking coal shipments maintained a steady growth trajectory in H1CY'24, standing at 96.24 million tonnes (mnt) compared to 94.96 mnt in H1CY'23, marking a modest 1.35% y-o-y increase. Moreover, the momentum continued with a slight m-o-m increase in June, rising to 16.48 mnt from 16.36 mnt in May. This uptick reflects ongoing demand and operational efficiency in the sector, reinforcing Australia's position as a key player in the international coal market. Also, approaching of the fiscal year-end added to the volume pick-up.

Exports to China rise

• Australian thermal coal exports to China surged an impressive 41.52% y-o-y in H1 reaching 29.91 mnt, up from 21.13 mnt in H1CY'23.
  
  
• In contrast, exports to Japan declined by 4.35% y-o-y to 33.40 mnt in H1 from 34.92 mnt in H1CY'23. Similarly, exports to Taiwan also decreased to 10.67 mnt in H1CY'24, reflecting an 18.74% decline from 13.13 mnt in H1 last year.
  
  
• Meanwhile, exports to South Korea and Vietnam declined by 7.82% and 9.62% y-o-y in H1, with shipments totalling 6.95 mnt and 4.04 mnt, respectively.
  
  
• The most significant drop was observed in exports to India which plunged 51.16% to 2.10 mnt in H1 from 4.47 mnt in H1 last year.
  
  

Load port-wise break up

During the first half of CY'24, Newcastle's exports rose by 4.65% y-o-y, reaching 71.07 mnt from 67.93 mnt in H1 CY'23. Meanwhile, Gladstone saw a slight decrease of 0.86% y-o-y, with shipments totalling 8.10 mnt in H1CY'24, down from 8.17 mnt in the year-ago period.

However, Abbot Point experienced a significant decline in exports, which dropped by 20.82% y-o-y to 8.45 mnt in H1CY'24 from 10.67 mnt in H1CY'23. Despite these changes, exports from DBCT remained stable y-o-y at 5.75 mnt.