US coal exports in March rose to their highest in four months, according to US Census Bureau data released on Tuesday. The data showed that the US exported 6.27 million tons of coal in March, increasing by 1.2% from a month earlier, but declining by 25% from a year earlier. Exports increased in March despite a more than 30% month-on-month decline in bituminous shipments as met coal exports rebounded from a three-year low in the prior month.
Thermal coal exports dropped 19.5% month-on-month to 2.39 million tons in March, and by 29.4% from March 2019. US thermal exports in the first quarter reached 7.54 million tons, 26.8% lower than the same period last year.
Bituminous coal exports stood at 1.81 million tons in March, declining by 31.4% month-on-month and 37% year-on-year. Bituminous exports in the first quarter were down 30.5% year-on-year to 6.19 million tons. India was the largest export market for US bituminous coal in March, receiving 1.03 million tons, followed by South Korea (192,710 tons) and the Dominican Republic (163,400 tons).
Subbituminous coal exports reached their highest in four months of 534,105 tons in March, increasing by 70.6% month-on-month and 8% year-on-year. In the first quarter, subbituminous exports have fallen 2.6% year-on-year to 1.29 million tons. In March, South Korea received most of US subbituminous coal exports (374,868 tons), followed by Japan (75,703 tons) and Mexico (43,390 tons).
Metallurgical coal exports surged 20.3% month-on-month to 3.88 million tons in March, but down 22% from a year earlier. In the first quarter, US met coal exports were down 15.8% year-on-year to 10.58 million tons. Brazil was the largest importer of US met coal in March, receiving 794,787 tons, followed by Ukraine (566,062 tons), the Netherlands (532,424 tons), and Japan (427,229 tons).
