With unprecedented increases in demand, prices and freight rates in every coal market, there are few signs of stability returning at least for the time being. The past few months have seen some extraordinary highs. Who is to say there may not be more to come?
The entire coal market has continued to move from strength to strength in the early stages of 2004 with both coking coal and thermal coal prices pushing towards uncharted territory.
Combined with the resurgent freight market, consumers are being forced to pay more than double the price for their coal purchases compared with this time last year. With little sign of an easing of either coal prices or ocean freight rates in the short term, consumers will be looking for cheaper alternative fuels and ruing the fact that they are, in general, no longer involved in coal production themselves....
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This complete item is approximately 2000 words in length, and appeared in the January/February 2004 issue of CoalTrans International, on page 12.
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