The Coal Industry's Struggles Are Set To Continue

The US coal industry is under an increasing amount of pressure on a multitude of fronts. Not only are policymakers turning their backs on coal, but the pure market economics of coal are also deteriorating. While coal has been a dominant source of energy for the majority of the modern era, this fossil fuel is now being cast aside due to the emergence of cleaner and/or more promising forms of energy. Coal has even been facing massive pressures from within the fossil fuel industry, namely from natural gas interests.

Not surprisingly, most of the major US coal companies have continued their historic stock declines. Companies like Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU), Alliance Holdings GP (NASDAQ:AHGP), and Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) have experienced an unrelenting downward pressure on their stock prices over the past few years. Even electric utilities are starting to warn about the potential difficulties associated with coal. In fact, a nonprofit organization associated with the largest Michigan utilities has stated that 25 coal units will shut down in a half-decades time. Coal is clearly having an extremely hard time adapting to the changing energy landscape.

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