Freight at China's Qinhuangdao Port Falls Again

QINHUANGDAO, Dec. 29 (Platts) -- The cost of coastal coal freight from China's Qinhuangdao port to southern ports fell in the week to December 28, after a short-lived uptrend in the previous week, according to data released by Qinhuangdao port on Wednesday.

Between Qinhuangdao and Shanghai ports, coal freight for vessels with a capacity of 20,000-30,000 mt dropped to a year-to-date low of Yuan 30/mt ($4.70/mt) Wednesday, down Yuan 2 from the week before. This compares with a record high of Yuan 88/mt seen on October 26, 2010.

The coastal freight between Qinhuangdao and Zhangjiagang ports for vessels with a capacity of 20,000-30,000 mt also dropped Yuan 2 to a year-to-date low of Yuan 33/mt Wednesday. This compares with a record high of Yuan 95/mt, also seen on October 26, 2010.

The coastal freight between Qinhuangdao and Guangzhou ports dropped Yuan 2 to a year-to-date low of Yuan 58/mt for 20,000-30,000 mt capacity vessels, after staying flat for three weeks. This compares with a record high of Yuan 125/mt, again seen on October 26, 2010.

Meanwhile, Qinhuangdao port held 6.62 million mt of coal stocks Tuesday, slightly down from 6.67 million mt on Sunday, also down from 6.99 million mt on December 19. Stocks at Qinhuangdao port dropped to a two-year low of 3.95 million mt on October 4.