Coal Logistics System: Documentation and User's Guide

摘要

The Coal Logistics System (CLS) has the capability to track coal from a US mine or mining area to a foreign consumer's receiving dock. The system contains substantial quantities of information about the types of coal available in different US coalfields, present and potential inland transportation routes to tidewater piers, and shipping routes to and port capabilities in the five importing nations now included. It is designed to facilitate comparisons of coal quality and price at several stages of the export process, including delivered prices at a wide range of destinations from Trieste to Vado Ligure in Italy, and from Muroran in northern Japan, to Sri Racha, near Bangkok, along the Asian Pacific Rim. The CLS can also be used to examine coal quality within or between any of 18 US coalfields, including three in Alaska, or compare alternative routes and associated service prices between coal producing regions and ports-of-exit. It may be used to explore the possibilities of different ship sizes, marine routes, and foreign receiving terminals for coal exports. The CLS interacts with users through a series of menus that provide the user with simple choices. 30 figs. (ERA citation 14:014283)