Coal shipping glossary
Coal remains the second-largest dry bulk trade, split between thermal coal for power generation and coking coal for steelmaking.
Thermal versus coking coal
Thermal coal is burned for electricity and is the more price- and policy-sensitive stream. Coking (metallurgical) coal feeds blast furnaces and tracks steel production rather than power demand.
Export regions
Australia, Indonesia, Russia, Colombia, South Africa and the United States are the principal exporters. Indonesian volumes move heavily on Supramax and Panamax tonnage over short hauls; Australian and Colombian trades support longer-haul employment.
Policy and transition risk
Import restrictions, carbon policy and hydro availability in importing markets can swing seaborne demand sharply within a single season, which makes coal one of the least predictable inputs to dry bulk freight forecasting.