Moody’s Investors Service said that income for North American coal miners could fall by more than half this year as the coronavirus pandemic makes the poor market worse. Analysts of Moody Benjamin Nelson wrote “Coal consumption will be crushed in 2020 We expect a sharp and sustained slowdown in economic activity will result in lower economic growth, reduced demand for electricity and reduced demand for steel.”
Earnings before interest , taxes, depreciation and amortization will fall by more than 50 per cent in 2020, with thermal coal production dropping by more than 25 per cent, according to the forecast. Since August, the rating company has had a pessimistic outlook on the industry.
Already faced with an inexorable decline as utilities shift away from the dirtiest fossil fuel, Moody’s said the struggling coal industry will not be able to count on Washington’s help “as the U.S. government directs funding to industries that are more likely to rebound as the crisis eases.”
