The Market (Π)

Appalachian coking coals can effectively compete with local coking coals in the British market, particularly when spot or term charter rates are low; and the crude oils of the Middle East are highly attractive in the tidewater markets of America’s east coast despite their much longer haul than domestic oil. The spatial relationship of markets to energy transport routes also modifies the geography of energy consumption. One of the most important factors influencing the geography of energy is undoubtedly the extent to which markets are ‘free’ or ‘planned’. Natural gas has been able to maintain its monopoly in the power station market of the West South Central region—where Texas and Louisiana alone consume about one-third of all the gas used to generate electricity in the United States—and it continues to play a significant role in the Mountain and Pacific States.