Coal prices at Australia's Newcastle port, a benchmark for supplies in Asia, rose to a record for a fifth week on concern there will be supply shortages as mining companies are advised of capacity restrictions next year.

Power station coal for delivery within the next three months gained A$4.15, or 4.9 percent, to $88.63 a metric ton in the week ended Nov. 23, according to the globalCOAL NEWC Index, an Asian benchmark calculated each Friday.

Consumption, buoyed by China, which became a net importer of coal for the first time this year, has outpaced exports from Australia, Indonesia and South Africa. Mining companies in Australia's Hunter Valley must share 95 million metric tons of capacity at Newcastle next year, 18 percent less than their stated demand.

``There seem to be ongoing disappointments abut rail capacity constraints and port capacity constraints,'' said Clyde Henderson, a coal analyst at Barlow Jonker Pty, a unit of Edinburgh-based Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd. ``On top of that, we're now getting toward the start of the Northern winter which is a higher-demand period in Japan and Korea.''

Credit Suisse Group last week raised its 2008 forecast for Asian contract prices by $10 a ton to $80 a ton for the year starting April 1, citing supply disruptions caused by excessive rain in Indonesia and infrastructure constraints in Australia that are putting a further strain on the market.

Banpu Pcl, Thailand's biggest coal mining company, has been forced to delay shipments from the Indominco mine to the next quarter because of heavy monsoon rains, Phillip Securities said in a Nov. 22 report, citing unnamed officials at the company. The mining company informed customers it may miss its annual production target of 11 million metric tons at the mine in east Kalimantan, Seamico Securities Pcl said in a Nov. 22 report.

Shipping Queue

The queue of ships waiting outside Newcastle port to load coal reached a record 79 in June after storms disrupted operations and hasn't been less than 37 this year.

Forty ships were waiting as of this morning, unchanged from last week, according to the Newcastle Port Corp.'s Web site.

Nineteen vessels with coal departed the port in the week ended Nov. 24, one more than a week ago, Newcastle Port said in a statement. Sixteen left for Japan, one each to Queensland's Gladstone, South Korea and New Caledonia's Noumea, it said.

The port loaded 1.34 million tons of coal on the week ended this morning, less than the 1.74 million tons a week ago, the port said. It took an average of 13.87 days to load coal company to 1.86 days for general cargo.

The Hunter Valley Coal Chain Logistics Team, coordinator of coal movements along the rail and port system, is aiming for an annualized rate of 88.4 million tons a year of throughput this month, yet shipments so far in November are running at 84.8 million, it said. Shipments in the first 10 months of the year were 93 percent of the targeted rate, it said.

The estimated capacity of 95 million tons available for next year through Newcastle isn't enough to meet demand from coal miners, Port Waratah Coal Services Ltd., the operator of the two coal terminals at Newcastle, said Nov. 1. Rio Tinto Group, BHP Billiton Ltd. and Xstrata Plc are among mining companies that ship coal through Newcastle.

Rio Tinto, the world's largest mining company, may not be able to meet orders to export coal from Hail Creek and Blair Athol mines in Queensland state because of congestion at Dalrymple Bay port, spokeswoman Amanda Buckley said.

Overall capacity at the port has been reduced by 4.1 million tons in the first quarter of 2008, she said. Most of the coal exported through Dalrymple Bay is coking coal.