Typhoon Hagupit, which made landfall in south China on August 4, has disrupted coal handling at Chinese ports and increased freight rate of coal carriers. However, the impact on utilities has been minimal because coastal power plants have been stockpiling for the anticipated higher demand during the summer.
Data from China's coal industry group CCTD showed coal offtake from the key coal-handling port of Qinhuangdao in North China dropped to 363,000 tons on August 4, the lowest in two and a half months.
According to Shanghai shipping exchange data, freight rates of 50,000-60,000 ton coal carriers for a route from Qinhuangdao port to south China's Guangzhou port surged to CNY34.60/ton ($5/ton) on August 5, the highest since May 28. Meanwhile, costs for 40,000-50,000 ton coal vessels from Qinhuangdao to east China's Shanghai port rose to CNY19/ton on the day, the highest since July 21.
Since the start of this week, heavy rainfall has been disrupting operations at open-cast mines and coal transportation logistics in Shaanxi, one of China's largest coal-producing provinces. Heavy rains are also affecting neighbouring Shanxi, China's top coal-producing province. However, the impact is expected to be less severe as in Shaanxi as most mines in Shanxi are underground.
