Coal mining in the United States

Coal mining is an industry in transition in the United States. Production in 2019 was down 40% from the peak production of 1,171.8 million short tons (1,063 million metric tons) in 2008. Employment of 43,000 coal miners is down from a peak of 883,000 in 1923.^[1] Generation of electricity is the largest user of coal, being used to produce 50% of electric power in 2005 and 27% in 2018.^[2] The U.S. is a net exporter of coal. U.S. coal exports, for which Europe is the largest customer, peaked in 2012.^[3] In 2015, the U.S. exported 7.0 percent of mined coal.^[4]

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2015, Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, and Pennsylvania produced about 639 million short tons (580 million metric tons), representing 71% of total coal production in the United States.^[5]

In 2015, four publicly traded U.S. coal companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, including Patriot Coal Corporation, Walter Energy, and the fourth-largest Alpha Natural Resources. By January 2016, more than 25% of coal production was in bankruptcy in the United States^[6] including the top two producers Peabody Energy^[7][8] and Arch Coal.^[6][9] When Arch Coal filed for bankruptcy protection, the price of coal had dropped 50% since 2011^[10] and it was $4.5 billion in debt.^[6][10] On October 5, 2016, Arch Coal emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.^[11] In October 2018, Westmoreland Coal Company filed for bankruptcy protection.^[12][13][14] On May 10, 2019, the third largest U.S. coal company by production, Cloud Peak Energy, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.^[15] On October 29, 2019, Murray Energy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.^[16]