For the period ended March, US coal train carloads dropped to 1.55 million, the lowest level of any quarter since early 1994.

The EIA cited the deflated electricity generation demand for the drop, as the nation’s power sector made up 90% of total consumption.

Interestingly, as coal rail loads have dropped, the total share of rail for coal transport has grown from about 65% in 1994 to more than 70% today.

The EIA said the rise of activity and demand was primarily due to the increased use of low-sulfur coal, output produced in the Powder River Basin region of Wyoming.

“Rail is the most common method for transporting large volumes of western coal over long distances to power plants located in the eastern half of the United States,” the federal agency said.

Also playing into the numbers is the recent sharp decrease in coal-fired generation at US power plants for which natural gas prices have played a role, as has a mild overall US winter.

Not helping, of course, are recently proposed greenhouse gas emissions regulations from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

If passed, the outlines could severely restrict the future of new coal-fired facilities.

A cumulative report released earlier this month from the Association of American Railroads foreshadowed the news with confirmation that while overall intermodal shipments by rail had generally been on the rise, coal continued to be one of its worst performers.

For the period ended March 24, just prior to quarter-end, the AAR said US intermodal shipments via rail were up 4.2% versus the same period of last year.

However, carload traffic was down 7.2% and coal volumes plunged 17.4% year-on-year.

The group said that over the first 12 weeks of this year, total intermodal traffic increased 2.4% year-on-year while carload volumes fell 2.2%.

Coal’s performance was also down during that period, falling 9%.