ST. LOUIS — Peabody Energy and Arch Resources are lumped together atop the coal industry and headquartered just miles apart, but their fortunes are quickly diverging.
The two biggest coal companies in the U.S., both based in the St. Louis area, are charting very different courses for their futures: Arch is embracing steelmaking coal, stepping away from "thermal" coal sold to power plants for electricity generation. Peabody, as competition recedes, is simultaneously asserting its dominance there.
"It's just two different approaches to what's an inevitable outcome," said Rob Godby, an economics professor at the University of Wyoming. "Each company is supporting the narrative that makes the most sense for their context."
