Tidewater Coal plummets

As the end of 1999 approached, consistently dismal domestic and export coal loadings gave the nation's ports little reason to cheer. Year-to-date 1999 domestic coal loadings were roughly 12 percent off 1998's unimpressive pace and total export tonnage through November was even worse, at 36 percent off 1998's pace.

Norfolk Southern's Lamberts Point terminal and Dominion Terminal Associates' terminal - both at Hampton Roads, Va. - were the lone bright spots on the domestic front, respectively loading one and 13 percent more domestic tonnage than last year at this time.

November 1998 year-to-date loadings (in thousands) were as follows:

Chesapeake Bay piers comprise the CSX Curtis Bay and former Island Creek Coal Co. Bayside pier.

Editor's Note: I calculate that CSX is now moving approximately 327 cars per day to Newport News, and Norfolk Southern is dumping approximately 518 cars per day at Norfolk. At the time of the C&OHS convention at Newport News in 1996, export tonnage out of Hampton Roads was almost twice (44 million tons) what it is today.

Copyright Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Society, Inc. Feb 2000
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