The U.S. coal industry is projected to face significant declines in production and usage, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasting coal production will drop to 518 million short tons (MMst) in 2026, a 2% decrease from 2025. By 2027, production is expected to further fall to 497 MMst as renewable resources continue to rise, causing coal’s share of electricity generation to decline to 16% in 2026 and 15% in 2027.
Despite challenges, select coal stocks, such as Core Natural Resources, Alliance Resource Partners, and Ramaco Resources, are anticipated to perform relatively well due to their focus on metallurgical coal production. Core Natural Resources, for example, has reported significant forecasted earnings growth of 157.05% in 2026, while Ramaco’s production estimates for metallurgical coal are between 3.7 and 4.1 million tons for the year ahead. The coal industry’s overall outlook, however, remains bleak, with a Zacks Industry Rank of #191, placing it in the bottom 23% of 247 Zacks industries.
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