After months of double-digit increases, coal exports from the Hampton Roads port facilities in Virginia decreased less than 1% year over year to 3.1 million tons in September and fell 28% from August's total, according to data obtained Oct. 10 from the Virginia Maritime Association.

The ports were closed from Sept. 11 to Sept. 14 in anticipation of Hurricane Florence. The storm had little effect on the Hampton Roads area, but the closure increased the backlogs the facility has been experiencing for much of the year.

At Norfolk Southern Corp.'s Lamberts Point facility, which primarily handles metallurgical coal, coal exports reached 1.2 million tons in September, down 2.3% from the total delivered in the year-ago period.

Kinder Morgan Inc.'s Pier IX facility, which mostly handles thermal coal, decreased 1.4% year over year to 740,694 tons of coal, compared to 751,329 tons in September 2017.

Dominion Terminal Associates LLP, owned by coal producers Contura Energy Inc. and Arch Coal Inc., saw its coal exports remain flat year over year at roughly 1.2 million tons of coal.