US coal exports fell to a 3.5-year low of 4.28 million tons in May, data from the US Census Bureau showed. Coal exports in May were 13.9% lower than 4.97 million tons in April and the lowest since 3.88 million tons in September 2016.
Thermal exports stood at 1.58 million tons in May, down 14.6% month-on-month and 54.2% year-on-year. In the first five months of 2020, thermal coal exports stood at 10.96 million tons, down 35.6% from the same period in 2019. US thermal coal for exports in May mostly came from the Baltimore port (3.86 million tons), followed by Seattle (2.51 million tons), Norfolk (1.52 million tons), and New Orleans (1.44 million tons).
Bituminous coal exports tumbled26.3% month-on-month, or 67.6% year-on-year to 1.07 million tons in May. Bituminous exports were down 41.7% year-on-year to 8.71 million tons in the January_May period. Egypt was the largest export destination for US bituminous exports in May with 288,429 tons, followed by the Dominican Republic (172,200 tons) and Japan (133,127 tons).
In May, subbituminous exports were up 20.8% from April and nearly fourfold than a year ago at 455,964 tons. In the first five months of 2020, subbituminous coal exports were up 10% year-on-year to 2.13 million tons. The top export markets of US subbituminous coal for the first five months were South Korea (1.73 million tons), Mexico (203,112 tons), and Japan (151,664 tons).
Metallurgical coal exports stood at 2.71 million tons in May, 13.4% lower than April and 43.7% lower than May last year. For the first five months of 2020, met coal exports were down by 24% year-on-year to 16.42 million tons. The top export markets of US met coal for the first five months were Brazil (4.12 million tons) India (2.38 million tons) the Netherlands (1.96 million tons) South Korea (1.61 million tons) and Ukraine (1.6 million tons).
