Coal production in the U.S. showed a quarterly increase in the third quarter of 2018, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Quarterly Coal Report released on Wednesday.
The U.S.' coal production during the third quarter of 2018 totaled 194.7 million short tons -- 7.7 percent higher than the previous quarter, the EIA said. Production in the Western Region, which includes the U.S. states of Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, represented about 57 percent of total U.S. coal production in the third quarter of 2018.
Coal production in this region totaled about 111 million short tons during the July-September period of 2018, but this was 3.4 percent lower than the same period of 2017, the report said.
Total coal production in the U.S. was also 0.9 percent lower in the third quarter of 2018, compared to the same period in the previous year, according to the report.
-Exports fall
The EIA said the U.S.' coal exports decreased in the third quarter of 2018 to 29.1 million short tons -- a 5.8 percent decline from the second quarter of 2018 when they were at 30.9 million short tons. During the same period, imports also showed a decline by falling to 1.4 million short tons, from 1.5 million short tons -- a 6.7 percent decrease.
The U.S. continued last year to import coal mostly from Colombia, which accounted for 58.4 percent of its total coal imports, the report said. Canada's share in total U.S. coal imports was 17.8 percent, and Indonesia's share was 17.8 percent.
-Consumption rises
Coal consumption in the U.S. increased in the third quarter of 2018 and totaled 194.1 million short tons, 23.9 percent higher than the 156.6 million short tons recorded in the second quarter of 2018. However, the amount of coal consumption in the July-September period of 2018 was 4.6 percent lower than the 203.5 million short tons reported in the same period of 2017, according to the report. "The electric power sector accounted for about 93.6 percent of the total U.S. coal consumption in third quarter of 2018," the report said.
