TABLE 73.-Anthracite exported, 1919-1923, by districts, in net tons
[Compiled from the records of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce]

In addition to the export trade proper, the United States supplies by sea a small tonnage to the Territories of Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico. As shown in Table 75, the movement to Alaska is relatively steady but that to Hawaii and Porto Rico fluctuates within wide limits. In 1923, 34,000 net tons was shipped coast wise to Alaska, 25,000 tons to Hawaii, and 49,000 tons to Porto Rico. The competition of fuel oil is suggested by the marked decline in the movement to Porto Rico. As late as 1917, 125,000 tons was shipped to Porto Rico, or five times the figure for 1923.

TABLE 75.-Shipments of coal to Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico, 1910-1923, in

net tons

[Compiled from records of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce]

WORLD'S PRODUCTION OF COAL

From the information thus far available, the world's production of coal in 1923 appears the greatest on record. The total output, according to the official figures for the principal countries supplemented by preliminary returns for certain others from which more accurate data may later be obtained, is 1,360,000,000 metric tons. This is 4,000,000 tons more than the accepted figure for 1917, and 18,000,000 tons more than the accepted figure for 1913.

It is indeed significant of the economic disorganization wrought by the war that the output five years after the armistice should still be barely what it was before the war broke out, because normally the world's production of coal increases by leaps and bounds. In the 20 years preceding 1914 the average annual increase was 38,000,000 tons. Even with allowance for the big increase in the production of petroleum and the substitution of fuel oil for coal, it is apparent that the normal growth in the world's consumption of been retarded by the war.

energy

has

A feature of the changes brought by the war was a shift in the relative importance of the principal producing countries. The leadership of the United States became even more apparent as the production of Europe gradually declined. From 38.6 per cent of the world's total in 1913, the share of the United States rose to 46.3 per cent in 1918, and even in 1923 it was nearly 44 per cent.

The great event of the year 1923, however, was the occupation of the Ruhr by the French and Belgians and the consequent paralysis of the chief source of German production. From 129,964,000 tons in 1922 the output of bituminous coal in Germany dropped to 62,316,000 tons in 1923. The output of lignite, though less affected by the occupation, also declined. The stoppage of shipments from the Ruhr greatly increased the demand for coal from other sources. The output of Great Britain, in particular, was stimulated and rose to 280,430,000 metric tons, an increase of nearly 30,000,000 tons over 1922 and the largest figure recorded since the war began.

The following table has been compiled from the official reports of the several countries, supplemented by trade information, by W. I. Whiteside, under the direction of B. L. Johnson. The unit of measurement is the metric ton of 2,204.6 pounds, which can best be remembered by the American reader as roughly equivalent to the long or gross ton. The term "coal" as used by the Geological Survey includes lignite, and the production for the world is simply the total of the quantities reported, no attempt being made to reduce the statistics for inferior coals to an equivalent tonnage of coals of higher rank. Where possible, however, lignite is shown separately.

TABLE 76.-World's production of coal, 1910–1923