US coal companies building new mines increasingly focused on export markets

摘要

Higher global demand has US coal companies increasingly eyeing export markets when making future business decisions, sector experts said at an industry gathering. The structural decline of US coal consumption, driven primarily by cheap natural gas and increased regulation of coal-fired power plants, is pushing coal toward export opportunities, said Javelin Global Commodities CEO Peter Bradley. Speaking at the Eastern Fuel Buyers Conference in Orlando, Florida, he called for increased investments in ports to open access to seaborne markets as producers work to match increased export demand. “There’s a desire to build mines that are focused on exports,” Bradley said on May 8. “US mining companies are very focused on exports and want to continue to export coal.”