As demand declines significantly and environmental, social and governance concerns become stronger, Moody's Investor Services expects further closures and bankruptcies within the US coal industry.
As slower economic activity cuts down US electricity demand and as much of the industrial economy is shut down to slow the coronavirus pandemic, the domestic demand for thermal coal is expected to decline in the near-term. Additionally, an unprecedented shock to the global economy expected by the rating agency in the first half of 2020.
The coronavirus impact was seen in the Northeast by a 10 percent drop in electricity demand. For coal-fired power plants in the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest, the outlook has particularly darkened recently.
Generating minimal to negative cash flows, coal plants have been economically challenged for the past few years. On the export side, demand for US thermal coal over the past year has declined significantly.
