US thermal coal exports in May rose by 16pc from year earlier as congestion eased from the Port of Baltimore’s temporary closing.

Volumes rose to 4.53mn short tons (4.11mn metric tonnes) in May from a revised 3.91mn st a year earlier, according to data released Wednesday by the US Commerce Department. May was the first time since February that steam coal exports rose on the year.

US thermal coal exports also were the highest since December 2023.

The Port of Baltimore remained closed to most coal export vessel traffic through the middle of May, when workers were able to open a temporary channel large enough to accomodate Panamax-sized vessels. But shippers were more quickly diverting volumes to other ports than they had been in the immediate aftermath of the 26 March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which resulted in most of the Port of Baltimore being closed.

Steam coal exports out of the Norfolk, Virginia, Census district jumped to 1.36mn st from 409,531st a year earlier, 485,339st in March 2024 and 909,386st in April 2024. Norfolk was the primary destination for coal exports diverted from Baltimore.

Thermal coal exports out of Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, districts also were well-above where they had been a year earlier (see table), but May exports out of New Orleans fell slightly from April.

Exports out of Baltimore, meanwhile, totaled 503,792st of steam coal and 394,917st of metallurgical coal in May. Volumes for both coal categories were well below what they had been a year earlier, but up from 63,658st of thermal coal and zero metallurgical coal in April 2024.

All of the thermal coal shipments out of Baltimore in May were headed to India. That likely helped overall US steam coal exports to India to increase to 1.53mn st in May from 1.22mn st a year earlier and just over 1mn st in April 2024. April’s shipments to India were the lowest in nine months.

Some exports out of the western US also were higher in May than a year earlier as northeast Asian countries stocked up on coal ahead of the summer cooling season. Sub-bituminous coal volumes to Japan more than doubled on the year to 482,734st. US bituminous thermal coal exports to China jumped to 210,338st from a trace amount in May 2023.

Overall, US thermal coal shipments to Asia increased to a five-month high of just under 2.7mn st from 2.17mn st a year earlier. US thermal coal shipments to Africa jumped to 1.1mn st from 528,042st. US steam coal exports to South America also increased, offsetting continued declines in volumes to Europe, Canada and Mexico.

Total US coal exports rose to 8.94mn st from 8.43mn st in May 2023. A 2.5pc decrease in metallurgical coal shipments only partly offset the jump in thermal coal volumes.

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