According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) imported coal was picking up as the statistics shows a 3.4% increase as compared to November a year ago. The year-to-date, through November, continues to show a decline when compared to the same period last year (-7.5%), but this is the first month in a while that has reflected an increase for a month in ‘08. Exports continue to show an increase for the 2008 year in both November and year-to-date through November with met coal gaining 17% for the month of November and more than 36% year-to-date through November. Steam coal exports were up 21% when comparing the monthly figures and had gained more than 46% when comparing ’08 to ’07. The year-to-date production totals for West Virginia through the week of 1/17 show a 4% decrease when compared to the same period last year. The 52-week totals through the same period are still positive by 3.7%.
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