According to the Daily Mercury, the state’s coal exports were up 15.9% to 208Mt.

Exports from the Abbot Point terminal were reportedly up by 29%, Gladstone exports lifted 21%, Hay Point exports increased 19% while Dalrymple Bay exports were 8.3% higher.

Cheaper coal prices were an obvious driver although state Transport Minister Scott Emerson also credited the strong demand for Queensland’s high-quality coal.

Resource Industry Network deputy chairman Allan Ruming stressed that the industry was challenged to increase volume and keep costs down.

"We're changing the whole cycle and the cycle now is about volume and cost, they're the two focuses, the highest volume and lowest cost," he reportedly said.

Ruming further said the industry had left the "construction and capacity increase" phase.

"Now we're in the realms of using that capacity and the capacity that has been built into the market," he told the newspaper.