Coal Imports and Exports

U.S. Coal Exports

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Data for this figure.

U.S. Coal Production, Consumption, and Exports

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Source: Energy Information Administration, Energy Perspectives, Figure 38: Coal Overview (June 2008).

Data for this figure

Because coal is heavy, bulky, and relatively cheap, historically it has not been shipped great distances. However, some of the coal produced in the United States is sold abroad. In 2008, of the 1,171 million short tons of coal produced in the United States, about 7% was exported.

The top five destination countries for exported U.S. coal in 2008 were:

1. Canada (28% of exports)
2. Netherlands (9%)
3. Brazil (8%)
4. United Kingdom (7%)
5. France (4%)

U.S. Coal Imports

Although the United States produces a large amount of coal, customers along the Gulf Coast or the Atlantic Ocean sometimes find it less costly to import coal by sea than to have it sent by rail or barge from the coal-producing regions of the United States.

Of the 1,122 million short tons of coal consumed in the United States in 2008, about 34 million short tons were imported from abroad, which was 3% of total consumption. U.S. coal exports were significantly higher in 2008 than 2007, while coal imports decreased slightly. U.S. imports of coal were half the level of our exports in 2008.

The top five source countries for coal imported to the United States in 2008 were:

1. Colombia (78% of imports)
2. Indonesia (10%)
3. Venezuela (7%)
4. Canada (6%)
5. Australia (less than 1%)