Largest State consumers of coal. In 2007, Texas consumed 104.8  million short tons of coal, more than any other state in the U.S. Of that total, more than 98 percent was for electricity generation. Other major consumers of coal were, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Including Texas, these five states consumed approximately one third of all coal used to generate electricity in the country.

Other Coal Uses

• Coal is also used for industrial purposes. While the vast majority of coal is used for generating electric power, 56.6 million short tons, representing about 5 percent of total consumption, were used in 2007 for industrial purposes. Industries that typically use coal include cement, chemicals, paper, and primary metals. Cement plants, for example, use about 1 ton of coal for each 3.5 tons of cement produced. Small amounts of coal are also used to manufacture a number of everyday products such as photographic film base, carbon and graphite electrodes, varnishes, perfumes, dyes, plastics, paints, and inks.
• Some coal is converted to coal synfuel.  In 2007, 147.0 million short tons of coal were converted to coal synfuel, which is coal sprayed with a chemical binder.  The synfuel industry is supported by a tax credit, which expired on Dec. 31, 2007.  Without the credit, coal synfuel production is unprofitable and it is expected that all coal synfuel plants will shut down after 2007.
• Coal is used for steel manufacturing. Some coal is converted to coke, which is used in blast furnaces to turn iron ore into steel.  Coal used for generating electric power is known as “steam coal” or “thermal coal,” whereas coal used for steel manufacturing is known as “metallurgical coal” or “coking coal.”  In 2007, coke plants consumed 22.7 millions short tons of coal.

Coal Exports and Imports

U.S. Coal exports. Some of the coal produced in the U.S. is sold abroad. Since coal is so heavy, bulky and relatively cheap, historically it has not been shipped great distances. In 2007, of the 1,146.6 millions short tons of coal produced in the U.S., 59.2 million short tons, approximately 5.2 percent, were exported. The largest share, approximately 31.1 percent, went to Canada while the countries of Europe together received 45.8 percent.

U.S. Coal Imports. Of the 1,129.3 million short tons of coal consumed by the U.S. in 2007, 36.3 million short tons were imported from abroad.  Even though the U.S. 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 U.S. In 2007, almost 74 percent of U.S. imports came from Colombia.

More information on this subject can be found in the following EIA publications:
    View all of the tables from the Annual Coal Report
    View an (HTML) summary of the coal industry for the most recent year.
    View all of the tables from the Quarterly Coal Report

See also:
    Projected Coal Supply & Demand to 2030 in Annual Energy Outlook
    Historical Coal Data back to 1949
    International Coal Data
    Additional basic information about coal