Economic
Outlook
Energy & Manufacturing in West Virginia
BRIAN LEGO
Energy and manufacturing are two of West Virginia ’ s bedrock industries . While the ups and downs of the past few years are reflected in the output and growth of these sectors , they continue to play an important role in moving the Mountain State forward .
Coal
West Virginia ’ s economy has endured significant volatility , and the energy sector has accounted for much of the state ’ s volatile path of growth over the years either directly or indirectly . The continued strong influence of the energy sector ’ s performance on broader statewide growth comes even though energy production accounts for a shrinking portion of West Virginia ’ s overall economy due to a combination of shifting domestic and global market forces and federal government regulatory changes . For example , West Virginia ’ s economy abruptly fell into recession during 2015 and 2016 largely as a result of deteriorating domestic and global markets for coal and natural gas producers .
70
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
170 160 150 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50
Coal and Natural Gas Production in West Virginia
Coal Production ( Millions of Short Tons , Annualized )
Coal
Source : Bureau of Business and Economic Research .
2004 2005
2006 2007
2008 2009
2010 2011
2012 2013
2014 2015
2016 2017
2018 2019
2020
Natural Gas Production ( Billions of Cubic Feet )
Natural Gas
2021 2022
2023 2024
2025
1,000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0