US coal production sees slight decrease in first half of 2017
The United States produced an average of 192 million short tons (MMst) of coal per quarter in the first half of 2017, a slight drop compared to the second half of 2016 but still higher than levels from the first half of 2016.
The decrease resulted from weaker demand for steam coal, which is driven by coal-fired electricity generation. Production of metallurgical coal, which is used in steel manufacturing and makes up approximately eight percent of U.S. coal production, increased for the third consecutive quarter.
The largest steam coal demand reductions for the second quarter of 2017 occurred in Illinois, Kansas, and Minnesota, which accounted for almost half of the total drop in U.S. steam coal consumption.
Total steam coal production decreased by 11.7 MMst in in the second quarter of 2017, 8.1 MMst of which was coal mined from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana.
Average quarterly metallurgical coal production grew from 14.1 MMst in the second half of 2016 to 16.8 MMst in the first half of 2017. This increase was caused by higher worldwide demand, particularly from China, Japan, and India, following disruptions to those countries supply of Australian coal caused by Cyclone Debbie in April 2017.
China’s steel production reached record levels in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, also contributing to the increase in demand for metallurgical coal.
