March 25, 2026

U.S. coke production and consumption have declined more than 75% since 1980

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The United States produced 10 million short tons (MMst) of coke used in steel manufacturing in 2025, a drop of 78% from 1980 when it produced 46 MMst, according to EIA’s most recent Annual Coal Report and Quarterly Coal Report. Similarly, we estimate the United States consumed 9.3 MMst of coke in 2025 compared with 41 MMst in 1980, a decline of 77%, by annualizing the first three quarters of data from the most recent Quarterly Coal Report.

Coke is one of three key inputs in the blast furnace integrated steel manufacturing process. It is derived from metallurgical coal, a low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal that is heated without air at extreme temperatures in a coke oven battery, removing volatile matter and creating the strong, dense, porous, and nearly pure carbon residual product known as coke. The coke serves as a fuel and a reductant when mixed with iron ore and limestone in a blast furnace to create pig iron. In the final step of the integrated steelmaking process, pig iron is mixed with oxygen in a basic-oxygen furnace to create steel.

The largest integrated steelmakers in the United States with on-site coke batteries for blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) steelmaking are U.S. Steel—now a subsidiary of Nippon Steel following a 2025 acquisition—and Cleveland-Cliffs, which together accounted for over 60% of domestic coke supply for integrated steel production in 2024. Merchant coke producers such as SunCoke Energy supply additional coke to these companies and others. In late 2025, Cleveland-Cliffs and SunCoke agreed to extend their supply contract by three years, under which SunCoke will deliver 500,000 tons of metallurgical coke annually to Cleveland-Cliffs’ blast furnaces beginning in 2026.

The decline of coke consumption and production in the United States is the result of two main developments. In the 1980s, the U.S. steel industry experienced a precipitous decline that coincided with a rapidly appreciating dollar, which, among other factors, made imported steel more competitive than steel produced in the United States. The drop in steel production led to a similarly steep decline in coke consumption, which led to a corresponding decline in coke production.

After this drop, the coke industry began a long and gradual, although relatively stable, decline as the steel industry shifted to electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking. EAF mini-mills create molten steel by melting scrap metal at extreme temperatures while adding oxygen and a flux product such as limestone to create slag, which removes impurities. EAF plants are generally cheaper than integrated steelmaking plants and achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

In 1981, mini-mills, which typically use EAF, accounted for approximately 15% of U.S. steel production. In 2025, EAF mini-mills account for approximately 70% of U.S. steel production.

In 2024, domestic consumption of U.S. metallurgical coal totaled approximately 15 MMst. Since 1 ton of metallurgical coal produces approximately 0.7 tons of coke, the domestic coke industry accounts for nearly all domestic consumption of U.S. metallurgical coal. The remaining metallurgical coal produced in the United States is exported to countries such as India, Brazil, and Japan.

Principal contributor: Jonathan Church