Year-to-date US coal production down 6.9% through December 29: EIA

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Coal/6988230

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Year-to-date US coal production down 6.9% through December 29: EIA[/font]
Washington (Platts)--4Jan2013/302 pm EST/2002 GMT

[font size=3]US coal production totaled about 16.5 million st in the week that ended December 29, the Energy Information Administration said Friday.

This production estimate, based on railcar loadings, is 12.8% lower than the previous week's estimate and 15.8% below output in the comparable week in 2011, EIA said.

Coal production east of the Mississippi River totaled about 7.3 million st while output west of the Mississippi totaled about 9.1 million st, it said.

US year-to-date coal production totaled 1.0157 billion st, 6.9% lower than in the comparable year-to-date coal production in 2011, EIA said.

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[doc03]

1. My latest statement from AEP said that their percentage

of power produced from coal was down I believe 6% because they have switched to less expensive natural gas.

[NickB79]

2. It would be a lot lower if we weren't exporting so much

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/10/23/1072041/us-coal-exports-on-pace-to-hit-all-time-high/?mobile=nc

U.S. Coal Exports On Pace To Hit All-Time High, Fueling Surge In International Global Warming Pollution

snip

Exports in August, the latest data available, reflect some of the weakening global demand for coal, falling 2 million tons from the record June levels. While declines in export levels inject some uncertainty, exports remain elevated with lower August exports still 13% above August 2011 levels. As a result, 2012 is still expected to surpass the 1981 record.

This increase in exports marks a significant reversal from the general downward trajectory of U.S. coal exports beginning in the early 1990s, which bottomed out in 2002 just under 40 million tons, the lowest level since 1961. Coal exports in 2011 rose 171% from 2002, with only a brief interruption by the global recession. Export growth accelerated after the recession, with consecutive post-2009 growth of more than 20 million tons per year, a level of growth not seen since the 1979-to-1981 export boom. Current data for 2012 (through August) show coal exports are growing even faster, and should more than double 2009 export levels, buoyed by growth in U.S. steam coal.

[joshcryer]

3. The export port in the gulf hasn't gone up yet, either.

Sure we're using less coal ourselves, but we're really itching to export the stuff.

This is an outlier. It will go back up once the port is complete.

http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/07/18/2

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=U.S._coal_exports

'tis but a blip and a small one at that. Doesn't account for the year on year doubling in net exports over the past 5 years (averaged, some years have been lower, some higher).

[NickB79]

4. I was afraid of that

I was wondering if the bottleneck was in the ports, since global demand for coal is still so high, but I didn't have time to look it up before heading off to work.

Sigh.

[joshcryer]

5. There's a good infographic for EU and coal, too.

http://www.platts.com/newsfeature/2012/coaltransport/map2

It's not just a "developing world" thing.