Thermal Coal (Steam Coal)
Steam coal by NCV, sulphur, ash and total moisture
Thermal coal is bought on heat, and the first thing to settle is which heat you are quoting. Indonesian sub-bituminous coal trades on gross as received (GAR) — the 4,200, 5,000 and 5,500 kcal/kg bands — while Australian and South African coal is quoted net as received (NAR), so a 5,500 GAR Kalimantan lot is not the 5,500 NAR Newcastle lot and the gap is worth USD 10–20/MT. Total moisture is the second number: 30–38% in low-rank Indonesian coal against 8–12% in Australian, and every point of it is freight paid on water. Then ash (5–8% for premium Indonesian, up to 15–20% for South African and Indian-spec coal), sulphur (0.3–1.0%, with ≤ 0.8% the common power-station ceiling), volatile matter (25–45%) and Hardgrove Grindability Index (45–60 typical), which decides whether your mills hold rate. Ash fusion temperature matters as much as ash content in a boiler that slags. UN Comtrade 2025 export declarations put Indonesia at 390.9 million MT of HS 2701 at an average USD 63/MT, Australia at 355.6 million MT at USD 116/MT (a figure that blends coking with thermal), South Africa at 72.1 million MT at USD 77/MT and the USA at 52.8 million MT at USD 189/MT. Indonesia's own 2025 destination list shows where the steam coal goes: India 100.2 million MT at USD 50/MT, China 81.7 million MT at USD 56, the Philippines 37.7 million MT, Korea 28.3 million MT and Japan 27.2 million MT at USD 105 — the Japanese premium being the higher-CV bands.
You buy on delivered cost per gigacalorie, not per tonne, and that arithmetic is why a 4,200 GAR cargo at USD 50 can beat a 5,500 GAR cargo at USD 80 for a boiler designed for it and lose badly for one that is not. A plant built for 6,000 NAR bituminous coal derates on high-moisture sub-bituminous feed; a CFB boiler built for Indonesian coal has no such problem. Cement kilns are more forgiving on CV and stricter on sulphur and chlorine, and blend coal with pet coke to lift heat. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers thermal coal from Indonesian, Australian, South African and Colombian producers and trader allocations against SGS or Intertek certification of GAR/NAR, total moisture, ash, sulphur, volatile matter and HGI, with size (0–50 mm standard) and ash fusion on request. Parcels are structured in Supramax and Panamax lots on FOB and CFR terms, and because CBIL also runs a chartering desk (LaycanDesk), freight can be quoted alongside the cargo so you see the CFR number and the FOB number side by side. Send your boiler's design CV basis, sulphur ceiling and discharge-port draft and we will work the origin to it.
Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices coal and petcoke bulk freight on LaycanDesk.
Indicative reference
$50–120 USD / MT
as at September 2026
Reference level only — not an offer, and reviewed quarterly. Levels shown are as at September 2026. Firm pricing is quoted per RFQ, subject to volume, terms and inspection.
Typical Specification
Specifications are indicative and adjusted to the agreed contract and destination requirements. Final spec confirmed on COA / SGS.
Available Grades
Applications
- Power generation (PC & CFB boilers)
- Cement kilns & precalciners
- Industrial steam boilers
- Lime, brick & ceramics kilns
- Coal blending
Category
Petroleum & Energy
Incoterms
FOB · CFR · CIF
Pricing basis
USD / MT
Inspection
SGS / Intertek at load port
Thermal Coal (Steam Coal) — buyer questions
What is the difference between GAR and NAR?
Gross as received (GAR) includes the latent heat of the water in the coal; net as received (NAR) deducts it. For a high-moisture Indonesian coal the difference is 400–500 kcal/kg, so 5,500 GAR is roughly 5,000 NAR. Indonesian sellers quote GAR, Australian and South African sellers quote NAR, and index prices such as Newcastle are NAR. Always state which basis your specification and your price adjustment clause are on — a contract that mixes the two is a dispute waiting for the first shipment.
Which grade should I specify for my boiler?
Whatever it was designed for, plus or minus what the mills and the air-heater can tolerate. A pulverised-coal boiler designed for 6,000 NAR bituminous coal will derate on 4,200 GAR sub-bituminous feed because the moisture load and the volume of flue gas are too high, however cheap the tonne. A CFB boiler built for Indonesian coal takes it comfortably. Give us the design CV, moisture and ash bands and the ash fusion temperature the furnace was designed around, and we filter origins on those rather than on price.
How does price adjust if the shipment misses the guaranteed calorific value?
Standard contracts carry a pro rata price adjustment on the delivered GAR or NAR against the guaranteed figure, with a rejection level a few hundred kcal/kg below it, and penalties on ash and sulphur above the guarantee. The numbers are set per contract; what matters is that the sampling and analysis are by an independent surveyor at the load port and, if you want it, the discharge port, with the load-port certificate governing unless the contract says otherwise.
What parcel sizes and freight terms do you work?
Supramax (50–60,000 MT) is the standard for Indonesian anchorage loadings and most Indian and Southeast Asian discharge ports; Panamax (70–80,000 MT) for Australian, South African and Colombian terminals into China, Japan, Korea and India; Capesize where the discharge port draft allows it. On FOB and CFR terms. Because CBIL also runs a chartering desk, we can quote the freight leg alongside the cargo so you can compare a CFR offer against FOB plus your own fixture on the same day.
Ready to source Thermal Coal?
Send your quantity, specification, preferred Incoterms and destination port. We'll verify supply and respond with a workable offer — usually within one business day.
Have Thermal Coal to sell? Submit an offer — we'll match it against live buyer demand.