West Virginia coal production slipped again week over week by -4.17%, declining by -3.6% in the NAPP region of the state and by -4.81% in the state's CAPP region. National coal production also declined from the previous week by -6.7%: -6.6% in the Appalachian region, -7.13% in the Interior region and -6.62% in the Western region. Production from the entire NAPP thermal region declined by -5.72% week over week. Implied national met production declined by -8% from previous week.
Prices for NAPP thermal coal increased week over week by +3% (+$1.60), CAPP pricing also increased by 3% (+$1.80). ILB prices were unchanged. PRB pricing declined by -0.4%, WBIT prices declined by -0.3% week over week. Average U.S. natural gas pricing fell by -1.94% from the previous week.
Compared to the same time last year, total West Virginia production is off by -10%. State production from the NAPP region is up slightly compared to the same time last year +0.2%, while CAPP production is down almost -20%. National coal production is off by -8%, with production from the entire Appalachian coal region down -13.4%. Production from the entire NAPP thermal region is down by -11.7%. Implied national met production is off by -14.35% from the same time in 2020.
Domestic iron and steel production declined slightly week over week by -0.45% with furnace capacity utilization falling by -0.5%.
U.S. electrical output increased week over week by +0.88%. Generation in the coal regions was up +0.9% from the previous week. Output in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions was up by +0.64% and generation in the Central Industrial region increased by +3.85% week over week.
Total U.S. rail traffic decreased by -1.42% week over week. Steel raw materials and finished steel shipments declined by -0.89%, finished autos and auto parts traffic increased by +0.66% and coal car loads decreased by -6.68% from the previous week.