Coal maritime transport increased 10.8% in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the previous quarter.
At the same time, metallurgical coal volumes decreased 3.3% compared to the previous quarter, but increased 11.9% compared to the third quarter of 2020, despite the continued ban on Australian coal imports to China.
As with the iron ore trade, ongoing tensions between China and Australia have affected China’s metallurgical coal supply, resulting in higher shipping volumes that benefit ton-mile demand, according to the Ocean Golden Golden.
Metallurgical coal comes mainly from Canada, the United States and Australia, and Australia exports 58% of its maritime trade, mostly to China.
In parallel, Chinese steel production has been affected by recent developments in the domestic real estate sector, as the Chinese government has tightened its lending policies and standards for real estate developers, which has affected some of the most leveraged companies .
Many analysts expect the Chinese government to increase public spending on infrastructure to offset a possible drop in demand for steel from the real estate sector.
While China’s steel production decreased 2.4% in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the previous quarter, growth in steel production has accelerated globally.
In the third quarter, steel production growth outside of China was 4.4 percent and global steel production is expected to increase 5.8% in 2021.
Coal maritime transport
Vessel waiting times in the port, which have risen during the pandemic, reached record levels in the third quarter of 2021, reducing, according to Golden Ocean, the effective capacity of the fleet.
The prolonged time in port has been caused by numerous factors, including quarantine policies, crew challenges, and port and land infrastructure limitations.
In particular, the recovery of the dry bulk market has continued to expand globally, offsetting the impact of the mid-year policy changes in China’s steel industry and the most recent restrictions on steel production and steel activity. heavy industry, as energy and raw material prices remain high.
China’s steel production restrictions have affected iron ore imports, which increased slightly compared to the previous quarter, but decreased 12.2% compared to the third quarter of 2020.
