Coal Age Magazine - For nearly 100 years, Coal Age has been the magazine that readers can trust for guidance and insight on this important industry.
Issue link: https://coal.epubxp.com/i/82345
1990-1999 During the 1990s, the Interstate Commerce Commission was disbanded and replaced by the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Beyond discussions with the railroads about service, the only legal recourse the shippers have is either using the STB or taking legislative action. In each of the recent merger cases, the STB has sid- ed with the rail carriers. Beginning in 1998,train delays in the PRB begin to have an impact on utility stockpiles. If demand for PRB coal grows as expected, the railroads on average will have to load 10 more trains per day than they are currently loading—and they were already loading trains at record lev- els. With NS and CSX preparing to divide the Conrail assets in mid-1999, eastern U.S. coal markets will be served primarily by two railroads and many fear the rail service issues will spread to the East. Coal Worldwide With the exception of Great Britain, the world coal trade begins to recover midway through the decade. During October 1992, the British government privatizes British Coal Corp. BCC has been in almost contin- uous decline since the year-long miners' strike in 1984. Output has fallen 15%, or 15 million mt, 83 mines (62%) have closed and employment has dropped by 121,500 (68%). Although productivity has risen pro- portionately, it was still only 5.31 mt per manshift in 1992. BCC is an over-manned 1990-1999 COALand Coal Age International Issues COALLatin America, March 1995 COALChina, May 1995 COALAustralia, October 1995 COALCanada, March 1996 COAL Indonesia, August 1995 Coal AgeIndia, October 1996 and unproductive organization by world standards that is holding onto its crucial power station market only through gov- ernment intervention. Indonesia emerges as a force in the world coal market. In 1994, Indonesia's total out- put exceeded 33 million tons, a 15-fold August 2012 100th Anniversary Special Issue www.coalage.com 163