Ports authority reports rise in export volumes

SOUTH Africa’s bulk export volumes rose 9.5% year on year last month to the third-highest monthly total of 16.21 million tons, data from Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) showed yesterday.

The record monthly volume of 16.4 million tons was achieved in January last year, and April’s total of 16.22 million tons was marginally more than last month’s figure.

The 15.4% annual drop in July to 11.6 million tons was in part due to the closure of the Mpumalanga-Richards Bay coal line for its annual maintenance between July 11 and 24.

On average, 230 000 tons a day are railed down the corridor, but export orders can be filled from the stockpile at the Richards Bay coal terminal in the down period.

Maintenance is normally carried out in May, but was shifted to July this year.

The June and April annual increases of 3.4% and 6.2% were the only two in the first six months of this year after declines of 6.1%, 11.7%, 15.7% and 12.2% in May, March, February and January.

This followed a 7.3% increase for the whole of last year to a record annual volume of 168 million tons.

Despite the annual increases last month and in September, June and April, total bulk exports are still down 3.7% in the first 11 months of the year.

Bulk exports out of Richards Bay were up 17.5% annually last month to a record 9.5 million tons after rising 4.5% in September to 8.1 million tons and plunging 18.5% year on year in July to 6.2 million tons from 6.9 million tons in June and growing by 8.2% last year to 93 million tons.

As the Richards Bay coal terminal no longer releases operational statistics, economists are finding it harder to track South Africa’s economic performance in good time.

Despite the 40% plunge in the iron ore price last year, bulk exports out of Saldanha (mostly iron ore), were up 12.7% last year to 63.4 million tons.

But in July there was a 17.8% annual fall to 4.3 million tons before a 12.1% increase in August to 5.1 million tons, a 20.5% surge in September to 5.9 million tons, followed by a 12.5% gain in October to 4 million tons before easing to a 5.1% fall last month to 5.2 million tons.