With shipments of Australian coal to China starting again after a two-year de-facto import ban, this article focuses on the trends and outlook relating to international coal flows. Japan, China, India and South Korea collectively account for over half of worldwide coal imports, while Australia, Indonesia, the Russian Federation and the United States account for three quarters of worldwide coal exports. In the last two years Australia has largely been able compensate for the loss of the Chinese market, which accounted for 26% of total coal exports in 2019. Changes in demand and production patterns are likely to affect overall flows as well as market shares between countries.
Posts tagged as “Sea”
In terms of output, South Africa’s economy is the second largest on the continent after Nigeria. From an airfreight and container shipping perspective, South Africa is the most important market. Annual air cargo traffic is in the order of 350,000 tonnes, while container throughout at main ports has been around 4 million TEU per year. Economically, South Africa has had a bumpy ride over the past decade, and this is also reflected in international trade figures. However, 2022 performance was good with trade value growing at 9.5% overall. 2023 expectations point towards further growth, although the current power crisis could derail this.
Sufficient, reliable, and affordable shipping capacity is crucial for the viability of import and export businesses. Over the past three years most of that was missing due to congestion, shutdowns, blank sailings, and obscene shipping rates. Fortunately, things are improving, but problems remain, particularly with regard to connectivity in smaller markets. Under these circumstances there is merit in industry and Government considering taking control of feeder capacity to support ongoing connections for exporters and importers into hubs where connectivity has been largely unaffected over the past years.
Transatlantic air cargo was a real bright spot in 2022, both in terms of volumes and market rates. Containerised shipping did not do as well in volume terms, but rates have remained strong even as they have tumbled back down to earth in other markets. This analysis discusses the interplay between demand, capacity, and the relative competitive position between air and sea freight and how this is likely to evolve over the next year.
Apparel and footwear accounts for about 9% of US airfreight imports and about 5% of US containerised imports by sea. China is the single largest market, but growth has come from Vietnam, Cambodia, India and Bangladesh. Air has a share of roughly 6% of the weight and 18% of the value of shipments, but subject to large fluctuations and differences between market.
China to Europe rail import and export volumes are down 10% and 56%, respectively, for the first 10 months of 2022. This follows several years of phenomenal growth, where both imports and exports into the 27 Members States of the European Union (EU) grew by 27% annually.
Understanding what drives mode choice is key to understanding the demand for freight transportation capacity, in particular for air cargo and long-distance rail, where small shifts to and from ships can have big impacts. This article looks at what drives the choice of air, sea, road and rail transport.