Coal Exports: The Trump Administration and Western States Take Action to Open Ports for Shipment of Coal

On April 10, 2019, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order seeking to address permitting and policy obstacles preventing the export of coal and other energy resources through West Coast ports. New port facilities and improvements have been halted or delayed by state, local and tribal governments in California, Washington and Oregon.[1] The Executive Order […]

Daines, Barrasso reintroduce bill to jump start West Coast coal dock

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Republican Sens. Steve Daines and John Barrasso are reintroducing legislation to move forward a stalled Washington state port that would handle Montana and Wyoming coal. The bill aims to amend a section of the Clean Water Act, which would limit regulators’ review of projects. The Washington state Department of Natural Resources cited this […]

US miners Contura, Corsa see improved rail, ports aiding coking coal exports

US met coal miners Contura Energy and Corsa Coal cited gradual improvement in US rail and port performance over 2018, aiding exports, at the Eurocoke conference in Amsterdam this week. Flexibility at Corsa’s low-vol HCC mines in northern Appalachian to use both CSX and NS railways and several terminals aided trading and exports, and volume […]

Russian March coal exports steady year on year, production up marginally

Russian coal exports in March were steady year on year at 15.45 million mt, which was 10% higher month on month, energy ministry data showed Thursday. That meant year-to-date exports totaled 44 million mt, down 1% year on year. For both exports and production, the volume of thermal coal was not disclosed, nor were export […]

Contura optimistic about future sales growth, citing tight met supply and premium pricing: CEO

Contura remains optimistic about metallurgical coal pricing and company sales due to tight global supply and steady demand, despite seeing weaker sales in the first quarter than originally projected, CEO Kevin Crutchfield said Wednesday. “Notwithstanding the modest growth expectations in Europe and China [for met coal], the limited growth of new met mines, depletion of […]

U.S. Coal Exports Regained Momentum in January

US coal exports increased for the first time in three months in January following a recovery in thermal coal shipments to Europe and Asia. A total of 9.29mn short tons (8.42mn metric tonnes) of coal left US ports at the start of this year, according to Census Bureau data released today. That was up from […]

Coal-fired plants are closing but US coal exports are up

More than half the coal mines in the United States have closed over the past 10 years, reflecting a broad shift away from expensive coal-fired power generation to cheaper sources of power such as natural gas, wind and solar energy. Coal production peaked in 2008 and has fallen by more than one-third since then, according […]

EIA: In 2018, U.S. Coal Exports Were the Highest in Five Years

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Coal Report, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau While U.S. coal consumption has generally declined since its 2008 peak, EIA expects that U.S. coal exports reached 116 million short tons (MMst) in 2018, the highest level in five years, based on foreign trade data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Exports […]