| The U.S. coal industry is spatially segmented into many markets which exhibit many different market structures and levels of competition. These market structures range from cases where there are many coal producers, several modes of transportation, and many coal consumers, to cases where one producer has a long-term contract to ship coal over a specified transport mode to one coal consumer.;The study is divided into six chapters. The first chapter is general background and contains an outline of the analysis. In Chapter II the available literature is discussed in detail. The review of the relevant literature includes spatial market determinations and long run and short run linear programming applications to spatially separated markets, with a special emphasis on the classic transportation model. The method and assumptions of the transportation model used in this analysis are discussed in detail in Chapter III. Chapter IV contains a description of the data gathered for extraction and transportation costs, region and centroid delineation, and model contraints. Regression equations are specified for predicting transportation costs. Chapter V consists of a complete description of the 1975 optimum solution for the two markets: utility and industrial/commercial. This chapter includes tests that compare the 1975 model solution to actual 1975 shipments. The final chapter is a summary of the analysis and conclusions about how institutions can affect the future distribution of domestic coal.;The coal distribution model provides a method to simulate a part or all of the coal market, and the transport of coal, on a disaggregated regional level to examine coal flows. The model allows examination of the marginal costs of sulfur emission standards where coal is consumed. The model can be used to examine how coal markets can be effected by changes in prices, transport modes and costs, and changes in institutional constraints.;The purpose of this paper is to identify, replicate, and examine the adequacy of the current domestic coal distribution system. The analysis undertaken uses a linear program designed to develop a cost minimization model of regional coal distribution including coal production, transportation, and consumption for the utility market and industrial and commercial markets. The solution to the linear program contains a normative coal commodity flow. This solution is compared to actual 1975 coal movements in order to examine how closely actual shipments approach a least cost solution. In addition, sensitivity tests of the model are conducted to determine critical factors that would affect the short run availability for coal to various destinations. |
