In a company update on the coal export front, Teck president and chief executive Don Lindsay said last week that falls in global steel production were expected to affect coal sales volumes for the balance of 2008 and in 2009.

“As expected with these market conditions, Teck has now received notification from a small number of customers indicating their desire to defer some of their contracted volumes for the 2008 coal year,” he said.

“Teck will be discussing the implications of these requests with customers, relative to their legal obligations under the contracts in place, in order to optimise its ability to balance production with demand.

“Accordingly, Teck now expects that coal sales for 2008 will be near the lower end of the range of its guidance of 23 to 25 million tonnes.”

Teck has also suspended the 2009 dividend for its Class A common shares and Class B subordinate voting shares, which are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, to provide an annual saving of some $C486 million.

The company will also reduce its budgeted capital expenditure by $C730 million and take other measures to cut expenses and bolster cash flow.

Nearly $US10 billion of funding was provided from a consortium of 25 banks to finance Teck’s acquisition of Fording, with the acquisition seen as overpriced by some commentators in light of the recent carnage in world commodity prices.

Stocks in Teck have taken a beating in the meantime, with the New York Stock Exchange listing last closing at $US3.40, while on November 10 the shares closed at $9.18 and they were over $40 back in August.

Just yesterday Teck announced the resignation of its chief operating officer Peter Kukielski, who left to “pursue a new opportunity effective December 15”