Subscribe & Follow

Advertise your job vacancies

SA bulk exports up 2.6% in 2014 to record high

14 Jan 2015

SA's bulk export volumes rose 2.6% in 2014 to a record 156.5-million tons (Mt)‚ data from the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) showed on Tuesday, 13 January 2015.

SA bulk exports up 2.6% in 2014 to record high

In particular fourth-quarter bulk exports were up 5.6% year-on-year (y/y) after a poor first three quarters when the increase was only 1.5% y/y.

This bodes well for fourth-quarter gross domestic product data‚ which will be released on 24 February. The fourth-quarter jump was in large measure due to a 20.8% y/y surge from Saldanha.

As the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) no longer releases operational statistics‚ economists are finding it more difficult to track economic performance in SA in a timeous manner. Bulk exports out of Richards Bay fell by 2.4% y/y in the fourth quarter‚ but this includes some noncoal bulk exports.

Bulk exports‚ which are mainly mining and agricultural commodities‚ have been hit hard by industrial action in these sectors in the past three years.

In 2010 for instance bulk exports rose by 9% despite the global downturn in the wake of the 2008 Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and this was followed by a 6.8% gain in 2011.

In the first nine months of 2012 bulk exports were up 9.2% y/y before industrial action in the mining sector curtailed exports so that the full-year increase was only 4.8%. The large-scale industrial action continued in the subsequent two years so the 2013 rise was only 2.8%.

Exports out of Richards Bay‚ which are mostly coal‚ rose by only 1.0% in 2014 to 85.9-Mt. Exports out of Saldanha‚ which are mostly iron ore‚ increased by 5.3% to 56.2-Mt‚ while exports out of all other ports grew by 1.7% to 14.4-Mt.

The majority of bulk exports goes 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.

Source: BDpro via I-Net Bridge

Source: I-Net Bridge

For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.

We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.

Go to: http://www.inet.co.za