U.S. sets record coal production in 2006. U.S. coal production increased 2.8 percent in 2006 from 2005 to end the year at 1,162.8 million short tons. Production in 2006 was 31.3 million short tons higher than the prior record set in 2005 of 1,131.5 million short tons.     Regional Production. Coal is produced domestically in 26 states encompassing three producing regions: Appalachian Interior Western  The bulk of coal production domestically comes from the Western Region and the state of Wyoming. Exclusive of refuse production,1 the Interior and Western Regions had an increase in their production levels in 2006 of 1.5 percent and 5.9 percent respectively, while Appalachian coal production declined by 1.4 percent.

Coal Production by Coal-Producing Region, 2006 (Million Short Tons and Percent Change from 2005) Regional totals do not include refuse recovery of U.S. Total: 1,162.8 Million Short Tons (2.8%) Source: Energy Information Administration, Annual Coal Report, 2006, DOE/EIA-0584(2006) (Washington, DC, October 2007).

Appalachian Region. In 2006 coal production in the Appalachian Region decreased from 2005 by 1.4 percent to 391.2 million short tons, making it the fifth year in a row that the region has experienced coal production of less than 400 million short tons. The reasons for the decline were:

• A drop in coal consumption for electricity generation
• A slight decrease in coal exports
• An increase in coal imports that are in competition with Appalachian production 

Interior Region. The Interior Region coal production increased 1.5 percent in 2006 to 151.4 million short tons.  The upward trend in coal production for this region was primarily supported by coal mines in Indiana and Western Kentucky, which accounted for two-thirds of the regional increase.  Coal production in Indiana surged 3.7 percent ending the year at 35.7 million short tons, raising overall coal production within the state to levels not seen in 4 years. Texas is the largest coal producing State in the Interior Region and accounted for slightly less than one-third of the region’s coal production with a total of 45.5 million short tons.

Western Region. Coal production in the Western Region increased in 2006 by 5.9 percent to a total of 619.4 million short tons, and accounted for over 53 percent of total U.S. coal production for the year.  With a record 34.5 million short ton increase in coal production in 2006, and a production record that has been broken over the past three years, the Western Region has supplanted itself as the most abundant coal producing region in the U.S.

Largest coal producing state is Wyoming. Wyoming is by far the largest coal-producing state in the U.S., a title it has held since 1988.  In 2006, Wyoming produced 446.7 million short tons of coal, an increase of 42.4 million short tons or 10.5 percent over 2005. Some examples of Wyoming’s coal production dominance are:

• In terms of production, Wyoming’s “Black Thunder Mine” mine individually produced more coal than 23 other coal producing states
• Wyoming accounted for about 72 percent of the Western Region production total
• The State produced 56.9 million short tons more than the entire Appalachian Region
• Production was almost three times the production of the Interior Region
• Wyoming mined 38.5 percent of the total U.S. coal production for the year

Footnote 1. Refuse production comes from previously mined coal. It may also be known as a silt bank, culm bank, refuse bank, slurry dam, or dredge operation.

More information on this subject can be found in the following EIA publications: Annual Energy Review, and Annual Coal Report.