According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), US coal production has been falling since 2008 (-37% over the 2008-2016 period and -18% in 2016 to 739 million short tons) due to a lower demand from the power sector. Domestic coal production fell by 36% in the Western region (mainly Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana) and by 53% in the Appalachian region but increased by 2% in the Illinois Bassin.
The EIA forecasts a recovery in coal production in 2017 and 2018, linked to an expected increase in coal-fired generation in 2017 (planned increase in gas price); in 2018, new gas-fired units should raise gas-fired generation, to the detriment of coal. Over the 2016-2018 period, the EIA expects coal production to increase by 8.8% in the Western region and by 1.3% in the Interior region. Coal production in the Appalachian region should decline by 3.3% over this period.
Source: EIA