U.S. manufacturers produced approximately 930,000 tons of densified biomass fuels in September, according to the December edition of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Monthly Densified Biomass Fuels Report. Sales of densified biomass fuel reached 1.01 million tons during the month.
The EIA collected data from 76 operating manufacturers of densified biomass fuel to complete the report. The report does not include data on facilities with annual production capacities of less than 10,000 tons, which report data annually rather than monthly.
The 76 manufacturers surveyed for September had a total combined production capacity of 12.6 million tons per year and collectively had the equivalent of 2,505 full-time employees.
Respondents purchased 1.81 million tons of raw biomass feedstock in September, produced 930,000 tons of densified biomass fuel and sold 1.01 million tons of densified biomass fuel. Production included 167,746 tons of heating pellets and 768,497 tons of utility pellets.
Domestic sales of densified biomass fuel in September reached 192,339 tons at an average price of $229.05 per ton. Exports in September reached 823,161 tons at an average price of $193.16 per ton.
Inventories of premium/standard pellets fell to 236,191 tons in September, down from 253,748 tons in August. Inventories of utility pellets expanded to 483,776 tons in September, up from 474,202 tons in August.
Data gathered by the EIA shows that total U.S. densified biomass fuel capacity reached 12.69 million tons in September, with all of that capacity listed as currently operating or temporarily not in operation. Capacity included 1.81 million tons in the East, 10.25 million tons in the South, and 632,450 tons in the West.
