What's ahead in 2008?/The United States

摘要

In early 2007 many pundits in the coal industry were forecasting that the United States would soon become the "grandfather" of the international export market, snoozing away in deep slumber only to occasionally awaken to ship out a few cargoes of coal, instead, the United States was expected to become a magnet for imported coal and a large focus was centered on increasing coal terminal import capacity at U.S. ports. My, how a few months and major global supply disruptions can flip the market! Observers have differing opinions on exactly how much coal the United States will export in 2008 (We've heard speculation from 55 to 75 milion tonnes), but most agree that U.S. producers have an excellent opportunity during the short to mid-term to funnel large amounts of thermal and metallurgical coal to the international market.