Bulk exports rose by 6.6% in 2011 to a record 141.493 Mt after a 9.0% jump in 2010 and were up 8.6% y/y in the first eight months of 2012.
The slower growth last year was in part due to weather-related disruptions as well as cable theft on the Mpumalanga-Richards Bay coal line‚ which resulted in derailments and other disruptions to traffic.
The coal line was closed for 20 days in May and June 2011 to do necessary maintenance and in October exports out of Richards Bay exceeded 8 Mt or an annualised 96 Mt‚ but this eased to 7.3 Mt in November before rising to 7.5 Mt in December and 7.7 Mt or an annualised 92 Mt in January 2012. In May 2012 Richards Bay shipped 6.8 Mt‚ a 32.0% y/y surge. Shipments for the first six months were up 16.8% y/y.
Last year shipments out of Richards Bay‚ which are mostly coal‚ disappointed with a 1.4% rise to 76 Mt in 2011‚ while mostly iron ore shipments out of Saldanha Bay increased by 12.3% to 53.3 Mt. In the first eight months of 2012‚ shipments out of Richards Bay increased by 12.5% y/y‚ while bulk exports out of Saldanha rose by only 4.4% y/y.
The star performer last year was agricultural and manganese exports out of the other South African ports‚ such as Durban and Port Elizabeth‚ which jumped by 18.7% to 12.2 Mt. In the first eight months of 2012‚ there was a 3.8% y/y increase due to a slow first quarter with the y/y increase rising to 15.2% in June as maize was harvested earlier this year. In August there was a 7.4% y/y decline in this category.
The majority of bulk exports go to Asia as China‚ India‚ Japan and South Korea require South African coal and iron ore to feed their steel mills and thermal coal power stations.
As all nuclear power stations in Japan were closed temporarily following safety concerns after the March 2011 earthquake‚ Japan requires more coal to burn in their thermal power stations‚ as nuclear power supplied some 30% of Japan's electricity in 2010.
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