What is the cost of carting 1 ton of coal 1 mile in the US?
Coal transportation in the United States underwent extensive changes in the years following the Staggers Act. These three sets of tables span the years 1979 through 2001. They show the cost-related changes between coal supply and major coal demand regions ( Tables 2.01 – 2.04) , the changes in shipping distances for coal from the coal field supply regions (Tables 2.05a – 2.05k), and the changes in national average rates and costs of transporting contract coal to coal-fired utilities (Tables 2.06 – 2.09). Based on those data, the average cost per ton to transport coal in United States (by all modes) peaked in 1981 at $15.60 per short ton and by 2001 (preliminary data) had declined to $9.01 per short ton, expressed in constant, year 2000 dollars (Table 2.06). That represents a 42 percent decline in the average contract rate per ton to transport coal to consumers. Table 2.06 shows that contract rail rates did not peak until 1984, at $17.52 per short ton, and had also declined by nearly 42
