U.S. coal exports account for larger share of a shrinking market

As domestic consumption of U.S. coal declines in the near term, we expect exports to account for a larger share of total U.S. coal consumption, according to our recently released Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). We expect U.S. coal consumption will total 482 million short tons (MMst) in 2024, 29% less than in 2019. We expect that exports will make up 19% of total demand in 2024 and 21% in 2025, up from a share of 14% in 2019 because of decreasing domestic consumption, especially from the electric power sector.