As has been already pointed out, the domestic coal market is not indicative of the entire coal market. In the ten year period between 2002 and 2012 (the only f

As has been already pointed out, the domestic coal market is not indicative of the entire coal market. In the ten year period between 2002 and 2012 (the only figure I have the most recent numbers for) coal consumption went from 5 and a half billion tons to over 8 billion tons, and it's slated to hit 9 billion tons by 2019.