The Annual Coal Report presents annual data on U.S. coal production, number of mines, prices, recoverable reserves, employment, productivity, and productive capacity.

Consumption
Total coal consumption increased 5 million short tons in 2002 to reach 1,065 million short tons, still well below the consumption level of 2000. Almost 92 percent of all coal consumed in the U.S. was in the electric power sector.

Coal consumption in the electric power sector increased 1 percent or 11 million short tons to end 2002 at 976 million short tons, more than enough to offset the decreases in consumption experienced by most of the other sectors.

The sluggish economy coupled with a mild winter in much of the country in 2002 helped to hold down demand for coal during the first half of the year. As the economy recovered slightly later in the year, so did total coal consumption. Hotter-than-normal summer weather also helped to increase coal consumption for electric power generation for the year, especially in the West North Central and South Atlantic Census Divisions.

Overall coal use in the non-electricity sector declined by 7 percent. With the domestic steel industry still struggling, coal consumption at coke plants declined by 9 percent. The weak economic recovery in 2002 did not lead to extensive changes in the manufacturing sector. As a result, coal consumption in the Other Industrial sector decreased by 7 percent to end the year at 61 million short tons.

	Coal Production by Region, 2002 (Million Short Tons)
	Source: Energy Information Administration.

Production
U.S. coal production declined 3 percent in 2002 to end the year at 1,094 million short tons. Most of the decrease was due to lower demand by all consuming sectors, but other factors, including bankruptcies, also played a role.

Production increased somewhat in the Western Region, fell slightly in the Interior Region, and decreased significantly in the Appalachian Region.

The decline in coal production in the Appalachian Region was a consequence of weaker demand as well as other factors that were specific to the region, including the continued decrease in U.S. coal exports (which are primarily produced in the East) and legal barriers to the opening of new mines.

Production in West Virginia, the largest coal producing State in the region and the second largest in the United States, declined 8 percent. Wyoming produced a record 373 million short tons of coal, an increase of slightly over 1 percent for the year. This level was 31 million short tons more than the combined total of the next three largest coal producing States (West Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania).

Stocks
Total coal stocks increased by 11 million short tons, or 6 percent. This phenomenon was a result of the electric power sector continuing to rebuild stocks that had been depleted substantially during 2000, while coal producers increased their stockpiles as a result of only a slight increase in coal demand in 2002.

Prices
The average delivered price of coal increased in all three consuming sectors for a second consecutive year. The average delivered price of coal to electric utilities was $24.74 per short ton, an increase of less than one-half percent over the previous year.

Even though the domestic coking coal market shrank in 2002, the average delivered price of coal to coke plants increased by 9 percent to reach $50.67 per short ton. The average price of coal delivered to the Other Industrial sector increased by 10 percent to $35.49 per short ton.

Annual Coal Report 2002, DOE/EIA-0584(2002); 69 pages, 36 tables, 2 figures.

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File last modified: November 25, 2003