Waterborne Imports Mixed in January, Exports Slipped

A jump in propane imports in January was not enough to offset a drop in butane imports, which resulted in a 7.3% decline in overall waterborne NGL imports compared to January 2007, according to Commercial Services’ “Waterborne LPG” report. For January, waterborne imports totaled 3,150,862 bbl, which was higher than December’s 2,703,717 bbl, but down from the previous January’s 3,400,155 bbl.

Propane imports jumped to 1,875,042 bbl in January. That was a 58.3% increase over December’s 1,184,868 bbl, but off 11.7% from January 2007’s 2,124,400 bbl. East Coast ports continued to be the primary destination of waterborne propane imports with just one ship arriving in Houston. Butane imports totaled 1,042,420 bbl, which was off 12.5% for the month from December’s 1,191,608 bbl and 3.5% less than January 2007’s 1,080,280 bbl. Iso-butane imports at 223,400 bbl were down 28.7% for the month and 19.4% for the year.

Propane exports fell sharply for the month, dropping to 1,401,860 bbl. That was down 53.8% from December’s 3,036,250 bbl and off 4.6% from January 2007’s 1,469,760 bbl. Central and South American countries took two of the three propane cargoes in February. Although there were no butane exports shipped for the month, iso-butane shipments reached 88,000 bbl, a decline of 57.1% for the month and 7.3% for the year.