US coal production continued to fall during the first three months of 2016, with volumes dropping 28% from the year-ago period, the US Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday in its latest "Quarterly Coal Report."
Nationwide production totaled 173 million st in Q1, down from 240 million in Q1 2015 and 16.6% lower than the 207 million st in last year's fourth quarter.
Declines were seen across all major US regions. The Powder River Basin saw the largest fall compared to Q1 2015, with production dropping 34.7% to 69.1 million st.
Central Appalachian production was down 33.7% to 16.9 million st, Northern Appalachian production fell 23.4% to 24.8 million st and Illinois Basin production dropped 28.5% to 25.3 million st.
