(The following appeared on the Journal of Commerce website on March 14, 2011.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — CSX Transportation set new export coal rates as of April 1 that are higher than expected, said an industry research firm, in a short-term tariff that could permit more rate hikes in the third quarter.
Edward Wolfe and Scott Group said rate changes CSX posted on its Web site will raise freight pricing by $6 to $7 a ton, or about 16 percent, both for export coal shipped to electrical power plants and for metallurgical coal used by steel furnaces. “This is above our expectations that export rates would rise about $3-$5 per ton,” they said.
What’s more, the tariff applies to shipments from April 1 through June 30, so “our sense is that CSX is hoping to raise rates again” in the July quarter, Wolfe and Group said, “assuming demand remains strong and coal capacity tight.” They said CSX export tariffs in past years were in effect for a full year.
The full story appears on the Journal of Commerce website.