Financial Services Association, April 10 (Editor Xia Junxiong) On Tuesday (April 9) local time, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) lowered the US coal export forecast for April and May by 33% and 20%, respectively, due to the port closure due to the collapse of the Baltimore Bridge.

On March 26, the “Francis Scott Key” bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, USA collapsed due to a boat impact. After the bridge collapsed, the only waterway in and out of the Port of Baltimore was cut, forcing the port to close.

Baltimore is America's second-largest coal export channel, and the closure of the port has led to a marked decrease in the efficiency of US coal transportation.

The US Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for clearing the waterway, said it is preparing to open a temporary waterway by the end of April to provide services for container barges and some Ro-Ro ships carrying cars and agricultural equipment. Furthermore, it is planned to reopen the permanent federal waterway by the end of May to restore the normal throughput capacity of the Port of Baltimore.

The EIA previously predicted that US coal exports would increase by about 1% this year, but in its latest monthly report, US coal exports are expected to drop 6% from last year.

EIA Director Joe DeCarolis said: “There is great uncertainty about the schedule for port reopening and how quickly exporters can adjust to exporting through other ports.”

As the proportion of natural gas, renewable energy, and other clean energy sources has increased, the share of coal in the US power generation structure has dropped to about 15%, yet globally, about one-third of electricity is still provided by coal.

The EIA also predicts that the average export volume of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) will reach 12.15 billion cubic feet/day in 2024 and 14.3 billion cubic feet/day in 2025.

As Europe began to buy American LNG in large quantities, the US became the world's largest LNG exporter last year, with exports reaching a record 11.9 billion cubic feet/day.