"...U.S. coal market conditions remained favorable in the 2018 Quarter allowing us to secure new commitments for approximately 8.9 million tons to be delivered to domestic customers through 2021. We also continued to strengthen our international coal sales position, booking an additional 4.6 million tons for delivery to the export markets over the next 12 to 18 months. ARLP is now essentially sold out for its planned 2018 sales volumes and has increased its anticipated export sales for this year to approximately 11.1 million tons. Our operations have also performed well, increasing production volumes compared to the 2017 Quarter to meet additional demand while continuing to control per ton costs. With solid performance through the first half of 2018 and a positive outlook for our markets over the balance of the year, ARLP is again increasing full-year 2018 guidance for revenues, net income and EBITDA..."
"..."U.S. coal markets have benefitted from increased economic activity in 2018 and recent favorable weather patterns across the Midwest and Eastern part of the country," said Mr. Craft. "As a result, domestic coal demand has been better than expected and utilities in ARLP's coal markets have experienced a significant draw on inventories. With year-over-year coal stockpiles down approximately 15.0% based on days of burn, we anticipate domestic customers will be in the market seeking to replenish stockpiles in the near term and to fill open positions for 2019 and beyond. Global coal supply/demand fundamentals in the seaborne thermal markets continue to create significant strategic opportunities for ARLP. Through the first six months of the year, ARLP has booked 10.4 million and 3.1 million tons for delivery in 2018 and 2019, respectively, into the growing international thermal coal market. The metallurgical export markets also remain attractive and we now plan to export approximately 725,000 tons of metallurgical coal in 2018. Our participation in the international coal markets has increased significantly, from approximately 4.5% of total sales volumes in 2016 to approximately 27.2% of anticipated sales at the midpoint of our current 2018 guidance. Looking ahead, global coal market dynamics remain constructive and supportive of ARLP's long-term participation in these increasingly strategic markets. We continue to believe that ARLP's focused strategy of growing sustainable, long-term cash flows and returning cash to unitholders while maintaining a conservative balance sheet and strong distribution coverage should allow us to create value for our unitholders in the future..."
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