For all of September, the nation’s mines produced 83.8 million tons, an estimate that came in 2.4% higher than the same month in 2012.
East of the Mississippi River, coal operations produced 34.4Mt, while 49.3Mt came from the western US region.
While the EIA did not pinpoint any one particular factor, it did note that output for the week ended October 5 was on a slump at 17.7Mt, 10.2% lower than the week prior and a 5.6% drop year on year.
Specifically, coal production east of the Mississippi River totalled 8.2Mt, while those west of the river produced 9.5Mt.
The EIA said total US year-to-date coal production was estimated to be 765.1Mt, down 2.3% from the comparable YTD period of 2012.
The estimate report, typically released on a regular basis, is likely the last the industry will see for an indefinite period of time, as the agency announced on Friday afternoon that it had closed its doors due to a lack of appropriations stemming from the federal government shutdown.
