Founded in 1988 to produce the International Coal Report for the Financial Times, the McCloskey Group set up its own business in 2001 to forecast the coal market.
The group is today a global provider of intelligence through the McCloskey Coal Report, it’s forekasting and consultancy services. Any coal and energy related information and intelligence you may need is available from the group, whose office is located in the city of Petersfield, halfway between London and Portsmouth in the UK.
“Actually,” says David Price, the editor of Coal UK and Steam Coal Forecaster, “our background is in journalism. We started the report as Financial Times journalists, but later started to publish our own report. This is now the global leader, with up to date information, statistics and trends as well as the index prices for the commodity itself, coal. We also provide consultancy services and this is a successful business as well. We have reporters around the world to provide input and, since much of the coal trade is Asia-based, we cover this part of the world extensively, with representatives in Australia, Japan, Indonesia and China.
“We have been publishing index prices since 1991 and the actual price of coal is now based on our own intelligence as well as that of Argus. This is summarised in the API (All Publications Index). The coal price itself is then established by us calling our network on a daily basis and entering the information received on a spreadsheet,” says Price.
Price admits that 2009 has been an unusual year which would have been “bloody” if it had not been for China. “In spite of the global economic slowdown, I estimate that the Chinese will actually have increased their imports some 40 million tonnes by the end of this year. Most of this trade comes from Australia, but Indonesia and Eastern Russia also supply coal to China. Actually, we should have seen a bulk trade catastrophe this year, but this has not been the case thanks to the Chinese. I believe that China will be a bit slower next year, as the Chinese may use more domestic coal. China will, however, be importing coking coal, as the quality of its domestic coal is not that high.”
The McCloskey Group also provides consultancy services, especially to utilities and production plants, relating to how to go about purchasing and selecting the right coal for the intended purpose. The group supplies market projections, in-depth studies of the Asian markets, assessments of the values of customers’ assets in the market as well as project assessments. All the consultancy work is based on the company’s own models and experience. “Technical consultancy we leave to the experts, like DNV,” adds Price.
When asked about the environmental considerations, Price says: “The industry must recognise this or die. If the industry does not find the next steps, then coal will eventually be a less important source of energy. Huge amounts of money are being put into clean coal solutions, including carbon capture. The recovery of all coal-based pollutants, including CO2 emissions, must be enhanced. The outcome of the Copenhagen environmental summit this December - with caps on pollutants - will set the direction. As we know, most of the growth in the use of coal will be in India and China, and both countries will eventually have to adapt to the new operating environment .”