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ACI » Topics » Competition within our industry and with producers of competing energy sources may materially and adversely affect our ability to sell coal at favorable prices.This excerpt taken from the ACI 10-K filed Mar 1, 2010. Competition
within our industry and with producers of competing energy
sources may materially and adversely affect our ability to sell
coal at favorable prices.
We compete with numerous other coal producers in various regions
of the United States for domestic sales. International demand
for U.S. coal also affects competition within our industry.
The demand for U.S. coal exports depends upon a number of
factors outside our control, including the overall demand for
electricity in foreign markets, currency exchange rates, ocean
freight rates, port and shipping capacity, the demand for
foreign-priced steel, both in foreign markets and in the
U.S. market, general economic conditions in foreign
countries, technological developments and environmental and
other governmental regulations. Foreign demand for Central
Appalachian coal has increased in recent periods. If foreign
demand for U.S. coal were to decline, this decline could
cause competition among coal producers for the sale of coal in
the United States to intensify, potentially resulting in
significant downward pressure on domestic coal prices.
In addition to competing with other coal producers, we compete
generally with producers of other fuels, such as natural gas and
oil. In recent periods, prices for competing fuels have been
volatile. A decline in the
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price for these fuels could cause demand for coal to decrease
and adversely affect the price of our coal. If alternative
energy sources, such as wind or solar, become more
cost-competitive on an overall basis, including capital
expenditures and conversion, storage and transmission costs,
demand for coal could decrease and the price of coal could be
materially and adversely affected.
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