New York: Coal is the new iron ore in Asia, providing a boost to dry bulk shipping everywhere. That was the message from Sophocles Zoullas while announcing Q2 results of his firm, New York-listed Eagle Bulk Shipping.
"Coal is becoming an increasingly important dry bulk commodity. In other words it is the new iron ore," he said.
Total seaborne coal trade is expected to reach nearly 1bn tonnes in 2010, Eagle Bulk said.
The Nasdaq-listed company suggested trade in metallurgical coal, used in steel production, is expected to reach 265m tonnes this year, a 17% year-on-year increase, while thermal coal for power generation is expected to rise 4% to 713m tonnes.
This is nearly equal to iron ore seaborne trades, which were estimated at 895m tonnes in 2009 and tipped to surpass 1bn tonnes in 2010.
All this growth is coming from Asia, said Zoullas, especially with all the new coal fired power stations being built.
India and China together account for 80% of the growth in coal demand, but, stressed the shipping line, the pair also have the lowest per capita use of electricity in the industrialised world.
Eagle Bulk reported a net income of $11.01 million, or $0.18 per share, for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010, compared to $13.35 million, or $0.26 per share, for the second quarter ended June 30, 2009.
For the second quarter of 2010, revenues, net of commissions were $65.61 million, compared to $53.02 million for the second quarter of 2009. [06/08/10]
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited. Add Seatrade Maritime News to your Google News feed.
