By Olivia Kalb

January 21, 2021 - Ridley Terminals in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, exported 640,828 mt of thermal and metallurgical coal in December, down 17.1% from November, data from the Prince Rupert Port Authority showed Jan. 19.

December had the lowest exports in 12 months, largely driven by a decline in thermal coal shipments.

From the year-ago month, exports dropped 17.1%, and from the five-year average of 555,952 mt for December, shipments were up 15.3%.

Ridley met and thermal shipments in 2020 totaled nearly 11 million mt, up 27.6% from 2019 exports.

Thermal coal December exports were 230,845 mt, down 63.8% from November and the lowest in 14 months. Year on year, exports were down 29.5%. Over the year, thermal exports totaled 5.2 million mt, up 66.8% from 2019.

Met exports totaled 409,975 mt, up 2.3% from the previous month and down 8% from the year-ago month. In 2020, met exports totaled about 5.8 million mt, up 5.3% from the previous year.

Petcoke exports were 142,798 in December, up 388% from November and up 383% from the year-ago month. Through the year, petcoke exports were 1.4 million mt, down 3.6% from 2019.