1978 Annual Review: Coal-A Year of Technical Advances and Production Setbacks

For the US coal industry, 1978 was a nightmarish recurrence of 1977 as the United Mine Workers strike cut into production during the first three months of 1978, followed by the strike against the Norfolk and Western Railway during the summer and early autumn. Coking coal production was floored by the one-two punch of environmental constraints on US coke ovens and competition from low-cost, high-quality imports. At the same time, US ex orts of coal fell to their lowest level since 1962. And in the face of all of this, steam coal consumption was sluggish as utilities burned huge amounts of oil to conserve coal stockpiles during the UMW strike. This was followed by decreased electrical demands due to mild summer weather in many parts of the country and dramatically improved availability of hydroelectric power.