AT LEAST 50 coal ships are queued for cargo along the Mackay horizon, 36 of them for Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT).
The Terminal said that by the end of the end of the month, about 88 will either have been loaded or be waiting to berth.
The huge jump in demand for the region's coal at Hay Point and DBCT, which together form the largest coal port in the world, have been heralded as an indicator that the impacts of the economic downturn may be easing.
DBCT management chief executive officer Eric Kolatchew was not ready to say the hard times were in the past but admitted it signalled a boost in coal sales from the region.
Kolatchew said the increase since March signalled a strengthening in demand, and that China was coming forward as a big player for Australian coal resources.
He added that to have almost 90 ships off DBCT, not including the ones loaded by nearby Hay Point or Abbot Point, north of Bowen, is unprecedented.
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