“This is the new world we are adapting to,” he said.

Reduced demand for coal is both a short-and long-term challenge for the industry. Coal in the last few years has been impacted by low gas prices. In the years to come, coal-fired plants are being retired, with no new plants to replace them.

There is still a stockpile of Powder River Basin coal sitting at U.S. plants, this year, Marshall noted. But it’s become harder to gauge how much coal companies are comfortable having on hand compared to traditional standards, he said.

The stockpile will likely draw down through the end of the summer, depending on the weather.

“I think one thing that struck me is the last – well, last two winters have been extraordinarily mild,” Marshall said. “One had very low gas prices, this last one had gas prices about $3 and that meant that people burnt coal and ran their coal plants even though we see less coal plants than there used to be five years ago.”

The company also made a number of political comments in its earnings press statement, noting a positive change over the last six months in the regulatory environment for coal.