According to the latest information from the U.S. Energy Information Agency, coal production in the United States was up 2/10th of one percent for the week ending September 20th, compared to the same week last year, although it remains off by 1.8 percent year over year. Production for the week stood at 18.8 million tons compared to 18.78 million tons in 2013.
As noted, coal production for the 52 weeks ending September 20th was also off by 1.8 percent, from 992 million tons in 2013 to just 974 million tons this year. This reduced production was reflected in the number of rail cars loaded, which fell by 1.3% year over year, from 6 million cars loaded in 2013 to 5.9 million cars in 2014.
Exports of metallurgical coal saw a decrease – down 8.8 percent for the month of July as compared to the same month in 2013. Meanwhile, the January to July export numbers are down 5.4 percent from the same period last year. Steam coal exports continued to trend downward, falling 37.7 percent for the month of July, from 3.8 million tons in 2013 to use 2.4 million tons this year.
Meanwhile imports of coal remain up -- increasing 6.2 percent for the month of July, from 874,000 tons in 2013 to 928,000 tons in 2014. Overall, imports for the first seven months of 2014 were up 36.5 percent from 2013.
Electric output was down percent 7/10ths of one percent for the week ending August 30 compared to the same week in 2013. Steel production was up 9/10ths of a percent for the week ending August 30.
In West Virginia, coal production continued to be off by about 1.6 percent year-over-year. For the 52 weeks ending September 20th, West Virginia production was approximately 113 million tons, off from 115 million tons in 2013. Production in northern West Virginia was up by 6.6 percent, from 42 million in 2013 to 45 million in 2014, however that gain was offset by production losses in southern West Virginia which were off by 6.4 percent, from 72.4 million tons in 2013 to 67.8 million tons in 2014.
As of August 29th of this year, Central Appalachian coal was selling on the spot market for $56.35, unchanged from the previous week. Meanwhile Northern Appalachian coal was selling for $62.75 per ton, also unchanged from the previous week. Natural gas prices on the Henry Hub remained steady at about $4.00 per million Btu– still well below its $8 per million Btu peak in January and February. Utilities did not update their stockpile data for this week.