Weekly US coal production falls 18.1% on week; 2019 output reaches 703 million st: EIA

Houston — Weekly US coal production totaled 10.4 million st in the week ended December 28, down 18.1% from a week ago, US Energy Information Administration data showed Friday.

This was the largest week-on-week decline since the first week of July. Output slid 9% year on year. The declines were largely led by less production from Wyoming and Montana, which is mostly made up of Powder River Basin coal.

Production from the two states was 4.5 million st, down 20% from the prior week and 14.5% from the year-ago week. Additionally, it was the smallest level of weekly production all year.

The week with largest output was the final week of August, with 7 million st.

Through 52 weeks, output from the region is estimated to be 306 million st, down 10.4% from 2018 production.

From the Illinois Basin production totaled nearly 1.6 million st, down 15.7% week on week and 2.2% from the year-ago week.

Throughout the year the basin produced about 103 million st, down 3.4% year on year.

The weeks with the most and least production were in the third week of the year and the third week of July, respectively.

Northern Appalachian output was 1.5 million st, down 16.7% from the week before and 3.5% from the year-ago week.

In 2019, NAPP production about 103 million st, a 0.9% dip from 2018 output.

The week with the most NAPP output was week 3 and the least was in the first week of July.

Production from the Central Appalachian was about 1.3 million st, down 16.2% from the previous week and 5.1% year on year.

CAPP output reached its high in the third week of the year and its low in the first week of July.

Production this was is estimated at 87 million st, down 6.7% year on year.

Total US production in 2019 was about 703 million st, down 6.6% from 2018.

-- Olivia Kalb, olivia.kalb@spglobal.com

-- Edited by Valarie Jackson, newsdesk@spglobal.com