[CatDawg]

You also have to add to the fact that the economy going bust last year has really hurt coal. The reason behind this is due to cars not being produced results in less need for steel which means the steel mills don't need the same amount of coal. Additionally, power plants don't need as much steam coal because 1 many businesses have shut down that need the power look at Ravenswood Aluminum in WV when it closed they were the number 1 user of power in WV which was somewhere around 15% of all power generated in the state if I remember correct. 2 if the steel mills aren't producing much then they don't need as much power and they use a ton of power. So if the power plants don't need to produce as much power they need less coal. Then another portion is due to the fact that many electric generation plants that have the ability are using gas right now since it is cheaper to burn gas than coal at the current time. The temperatures in the US were also not has warm over the past summer. Most power rates across the nation are being projected to drop next year. I'll believe that when I see it. LOL. However, you add all this along with the other points mentioned and you have a major problem for the coal industry. Basically not one of these things alone would hurt coal that much but when you put them all together you have PERFECT STORM facing the industry.