Metallurgical Coal: Frequently Asked Questions

Metallurgical coal, also called met coal or coking coal, is coal that is used for steel production. It differs from steam coal, which is used to generate electricity, in that it typically has a lower ash and sulfur content than steam coal. Coal production in the United States is geographically concentrated, though not all states that produce coal also produce met coal. For example, Wyoming, the largest coal-producing state, does not produce met coal. Seven U.S. states produced met coal in 2023: West Virginia (46% of U.S. total), Alabama (12%), Virginia (8%), Pennsylvania (8%), Kentucky (3%), Maryland (1%), and Colorado (< 1%). In 2023, the United States was the sixth-largest met coal consumer in the world; the People’s Republic of China (PRC, or China) was the largest and accounted for 62% of the world’s total consumption in the same year. Because met coal consumption in the United States has been decreasing fairly steadily since 1980, U.S.-produced met coal is increasingly exported abroad. The United States is the second-biggest met coal exporter in the world, (accounting for 14% of global met coal exports in 2024). Australia is the top exporter (accounting for 43%). China is the top importer (accounting for 41% of all global met coal imports in 2024). In 2023, the United States exported about three-quarters of its total production of met coal. Since 2000, met coal has made up the majority of coal exported annually by the United States (with the rest of the exports being steam coal), ranging from lows of 51% in 2003 and 2023 to a high of 69% in 2010. In 2024, met coal accounted for 53% of U.S. coal exports. In 2024, three Asian countries were among the top five export markets for U.S. met coal (these are, in order, India, China, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Japan). This highlights a shift of U.S. met coal exports toward Asia, as European countries have sought to lower their coal imports and consumption. Exports to North America, South America, Europe, and Africa have declined from 2010 to 2024. Because China is the United States’ second-largest market for met coal exports behind India, sustained retaliatory tariffs on met coal could impact future prices and pose certain market risks to export-oriented U.S. met coal projects. In May 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designated met coal as a “critical material,” and in November 2025, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) designated met coal as a “critical mineral,” which could make met coal projects eligible for expedited permitting, funding opportunities, and more. Met coal could also be impacted by legislation Congress is considering for critical minerals, including the Critical Mineral Consistency Act of 2025 (H.R. 755, S. 714), which looks to align the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) critical minerals list and the DOE critical materials list, and the Finding ORE Act (H.R. 2969, S. 1463), which allows for the Department of the Interior to enter into memoranda of understanding to expand mapping of critical minerals. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has ordered the Critical Mineral Consistency Act to be reported. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has reported the Finding ORE Act, and it has been placed on the Senate calendar. P.L. 119-21, the FY2025 reconciliation law commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, made met coal eligible for the advanced manufacturing production credit (AMPC), a tax credit for the production of clean energy that was enacted under P.L. 117-169, commonly known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). This report provides answers to frequently asked questions about met coal in the context of recent executive and congressional actions. It discusses met coal production and uses, the global market for met coal, and other relevant topics. This report is intended to serve as a quick reference for information related to metallurgical coal.