The Chinese Ministry of Communications said Thursday that authorities are taking steps to ease pressures on coal transport.
According to the ministry, the amount of coal stored in the five ports northern China and the four ports along the Yangtze River had dropped from 9.46 million tons in May this year to 5.73 million tons by Nov. 27, and the amount for domestic trade also dropped from 6.09 millions tons to 3.21 million tons during the period.
Since November, many port transport companies have received urgent letters from some power plants in east and south China, asking for more coal, said the ministry.
Currently, most of China's port transportation companies have shifted their transport capacity from foreign trade to coal, especially for key industries like power plants and steel mills.
Statistics show that from January to November this year, China's major ports transported 244.42 million tons of coal, increasing 19 percent on the same period of last year, while coal transportedfor domestic trade totaled 164.88 million tons, surging 24.2 percent year-on-year.
To meet demand, the Ministry of Railways recently urged its domestic branches to ensure fast and effective coal transportation.
China is facing surging demand for coal this year, due to its fast economic growth. The country also shut down some unsafe coal mines this year, which exacerbated shortages, and the increasing coal demand then brought pressures on coal transport.