In April this year, coal shipments from the Port of Newcastle in Queensland, the coal producing state of Australia, set a new monthly coal export record, totaling more than 11.8 million mt, according to Newcastle Port Corporation. The figure constitutes an all-time record monthly coal export volume for the Port of Newcastle, after the previous record monthly volume of 11.6 million mt registered in December 2011.
According to the released information, the monthly record follows a record 2011 calendar year for coal exports when 114.1 million mt valued at about $12.8 billion was transported to mainly Asian customers. Chief executive officer of Newcastle Port Corporation, Gary Webb, commented, "Newcastle Port Corporation, terminal operators, rail companies and mines have been working diligently with the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Co-ordinator and results continue to come."