Coal stockpiles at China's four major harbors around Bohai Sea Rim increased slightly by 234,000 tonnes, or 1.45%, to 16.329 million tonnes in the week ending March 18 as port operations were hampered by windy and foggy weather.
The number of vessels to be loaded at the four ports increased further to 303 on March 18 due to the stronger coal demand, up from 226 on March 11.
Many end users boosted coal purchases to replenish stocks as Daqin railway, a major coal transportation railway in the country, will undergo maintenance for 25 days from April 3.
Qinhuangdao Port had 172 vessels in queue on March 18, up by 61 or 54.95% from a week ago; Jingtang Port had 45 vessels in queue, up by 3 or 7.14%; Tianjin Port had 47 vessels in queue, up by 4 or 9.3%; and Caofeidian Port had 39 vessels in queue, up by 10 or 34.48%.
Source: Steel Home