Coal producers across much of the US continued to ship more coal during April than they had a year earlier, supported by higher coal-fired generation.
Utility-scale US power plants received 28.5mn short tons (25.9mn metric tonnes) of coal during the month, up from 24.4mn st a year earlier, data released Monday by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) show. This was the second consecutive month that receipts topped year-earlier levels.
The most recent increases followed extended periods of higher-than-expected coal-fired generation. With the extended increased power output, utilities opted to take more of the coal they had previously put under contract. That was unlike spring 2024, when many buyers deferred shipments.
EIA data showed 170 power plants received coal in April and March, compared with 170 and 179, respectively, in the same months of 2024. But plant operators ran coal units at a greater rate. EIA data show that the capacity factor for utility scale coal plants was 36.8pc in April, compared with 29.9pc a year earlier.
April deliveries from the US' largest coal-producing region — the Powder River basin (PRB) — recorded the most substantial volume increase. Power plants received 15.1mn st of PRB coal from Wyoming in April, up from 10.9mn st a year earlier. But deliveries from PRB coal mines in Montana decreased to 662,532st from 937,869st.
Western bituminous coal receipts also moved in mixed directions. Deliveries from Colorado coal mines fell by 24pc to 507,504st, while Utah coal receipts were 66pc higher than a year earlier, accounting for 668,110st. That increase mostly reflects higher production from three larger mines in the state. Deliveries from Wolverine Fuel's Skyline and Sufco mines increased by 60pc and 63pc, respectively, to 153,307st and 325,540st. Shipments from Bronco Utah's Emery mine nearly doubled to 141,025st.
Deliveries from lignite mines in Texas were about 1pc higher on the year. North Dakota lignite coal shipments declined by 19pc.
Among eastern US mines, receipts from Illinois basin coal mines lagged behind year-earlier levels as generators relied on power plant stockpiles that had built up last year to fuel coal generation. Illinois basin coal users received 14pc less coal from a year earlier. Illinois makes up part of the Illinois basin along with mines in Indiana and western Kentucky.
Illinois and Indiana mines shipped a combined 2.9mn st in April, down from 3.36mn st in the same month of 2024. Western Kentucky mines delivered 16.4pc less coal to power plants compared with April 2024, falling to 776,100st.
Coal receipts from eastern Kentucky coal mines in Central Appalachia also declined when compared with a year earlier.
On the other hand, April deliveries from West Virginia, the largest coal-producing state in the Appalachian regions, rose by 37pc to 2.45mn st. Fuel receipts for Pennsylvania coal mines, which are part of northern Appalachia, increased by 12.5pc to 1.8mn st compared with the same month in 2024, EIA data show.
