Will imported coal make substantial gains in the U.S. this year?

摘要

Southern Company made the market sit up and take notice when it recently purchased 750,000 tons of Colombian coal. The giant energy company took about 550,000 tons of Cerrejon coal and 200,000 tons from Glencore at prices rumored to be in the 59.00 dollars to 60.00 dollars/ton FOB Puerto Bolivar range. The coal will be delivered to the Kinder Morgan Shipyard River Terminal in Charleston, and then distributed to power plants operated by Georgia Power. CSX and Norfolk Southern could both be tapped to move the volume. Sources say Southern Company's buying spree may not be over. It could re-enter the market for 500,000 to 1.0 million additional tons of imported coal. Other utilities, such as Progress Energy Carolinas and South Carolina Electric & Gas could also dip their toes into the import market, albeit on a much smaller scale, during the first half of the year.