Exports Up

According to U.S. International Trade Commission data for Jan-Mar 2013, U.S. coal exports were up 11.2% y/y to 31.8 million tons. Metallurgical coal exports for this period increased 4% y/y to 18.2 million tons. The y/y growth is primarily attributable to thermal coal exports, which were up 23% y/y to 13.6 million tons for the same period. The March 2013 export figure totaled 13.6 million tons, up from 8.6 million in tons in February and represented the single largest ever month for U.S. coal exports.