I don't think there's anything wrong with our coal.  It's all about
cost.  The cost of labor in the US is very high compared to places like
Indonesia.  The cost of adhering to environmental and safety (OSHA)
regulations is also very high in the US.  So when you factor in the
wages of US miners, the cost of operating a mine to meet US
environmental and safety requirements, the cost of the crews that
operate and maintain the Norfolk Southern trains and tracks that move
the coal from the mines to the east coast, the cost to Norfolk Southern
of operating their railroad in conformance to US environmental and
safety regulations, the salaries paid to the executives, attorneys, etc.
who oversee the mines and transportation companies, and the political
and lobbying costs associated with operating a mine or transportation
company in the US, it can become--- at least for now--- considerably
cheaper to buy and import coal from Indonesia than to buy and transport
coal from the US.

The fact that the coal from Indonesia has to come all this way on a ship
doesn't add as much to the cost as one might think.  Today's ships have
very small crews and are usually registered in a country that requires
minimal, if any, conformance to safety or operating regulations.
Compared to the cost of moving coal by train from West Virginia to the
east coast, it's probably far cheaper to move it by ship from Indonesia
to the east coast.

C. Marin Faure
GB36-403 "La Perouse"
Bellingham, Washington

REPLY
Lets not forget that non American lives are cheap! (not!)
Who cares if a few hundred coal miners in a distant place die each year.
Same thing with manufactured goods for our boats.
Many Asian factories have absolutely no work place safety. Who cares if the
workers get mangled or poisoned by toxic chemicals during the manufacturing
process; as long as we get our consumer goods real cheap!

This has a great deal to do with boating because every week we hear a
request for where to buy a boat product "real cheap"  or euphemistically
"at a good price". Boat products are usually luxury goods and as such carry
the greatest markup.

Regrettably low volume in the marine market has convinced many manufacturers
to shift their manufacturing of marine products offshore.
Higher volume sales of some necessities means domestic automated production
lines can still remain competitive.
Not so with low volume marine products.

regards
Arild