Rhino Resource Partners, L.P. - Competitors

Rhino Resource Partners, L.P. Competition

Now Viewing Rhino Resource Partners, L.P.'s competition in: Coal Mining (primary)

Recent Developments

2008 Expected to be Strong for Coal - The National Mining Association (NMA) predicts that US 2008 coal production may equal the record set in 2006. NMA predicts strong world demand for US coal due to production problems abroad and the weak US dollar. While over 90 percent of US coal production goes to US power plants, new markets in the Netherlands and Morocco create export opportunities.

Switch from Coal to Natural Gas Expensive - </strong>A Government Accountability Office (GAO) study of the feasibility of switching coal plants to natural gas says that the change would be expensive, according to the National Coal Council (NCC). NCC says that changing resources would cause many coal plants to be out of service for up to six months for them to be modified to burn natural gas. Switching to natural gas would require large imports of natural gas and would mean changing from using a relatively cheap natural resource, coal, to using the most expensive fuel, gas. The GAO study is part of an effort to examine how new climate policies might affect power generation.

Coal Fights Back Over Global Warming - The coal industry, under attack for its contribution to global warming, is fighting back. NMA and individual companies are ramping up lobbying efforts and budgets for upcoming environmental, safety, and regulatory legislation battles. The industry is concerned, as all three presidential candidates say that they'll take a stronger stance to reduce greenhouse gases than the Bush administration.

Competitive Landscape

Demand comes mainly from generators of electricity. Profitability depends on efficient operations, as the product is a commodity sold on the basis of price. Small companies can compete if they hold long-term contracts or if they supply local customers. Big companies have large economies of scale in production and distribution. The industry is capital-intensive and highly automated: average annual revenue per employee is almost $300,000.

Full Industry Overview For Coal Mining

Coal Mining Industry Forecast

from Hoover's/D&B subsidiary First Research

The output of US coal mining is forecast to grow at an annual compounded rate of 1.6 percent between 2007 and 2012.

Coal Mining Growth Low

First Research forecasts are based on INFORUM forecasts that are licensed from the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. (IERF) in College Park, MD. INFORUM's "interindustry-macro" approach to modeling the economy captures the links between industries and the aggregate economy.