Biofuel Feedstock & Coproduct Market Data
Related Amber Waves Articles
USDA closely monitors markets for many commodities, including
corn and soybeans--important feedstocks for ethanol and biodiesel,
respectively. Below is a collection of data sources on production,
consumption, prices, and trade in feedstocks, coproducts, and the
biofuels themselves. Please note that, currently, cellulosic
ethanol is not yet widely manufactured or commercially available in
the United States. Therefore, only grain ethanol data are presented
here.
Ethanol
Biodiesel
University and Commercial Sources
Ethanol Production and
Use
USDA, Agricultural Long-Term Projections. These annual reports
include some specific features on bioenergy and explicit
projections for corn ethanol and soybean-based biodiesel.
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy (EERE), alternative fuels reports.
- Fuels data. Use of ethanol as a fuel and
oxygenate and U.S. ethanol production and consumption, as well as
State-level and global ethanol production.
DOE, Energy Information Administration (EIA), historical energy
data.
- Petroleum Navigator, Oxygenate Production. Annual and monthly data
for production of fuel ethanol and methyl tertiary butyl ether
(MTBE) for the United States and five regions. Historical data is
available back to 1981.
- Weekly Petroleum Status Report Table 9. U.S. and PAD District
Weekly Estimates Weekly data on production, trade, use, and stocks
of fuel ethanol for the United States and five regions. Historical
is data available back to June 2010 when the series
originated.
DOE, EIA, Forecasts and Analyses. Analyses and
projections of energy information.
- Ethanol. Information, data, and analysis
related to ethanol.
- Annual Energy Outlook. Long-term
projections of renewable energy consumption (including ethanol) by
sector.
U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation
Statistics, National Transportation Statistics. Quarterly
statistics on the U.S. transportation system. Data on ethanol and
biodiesel are available in Chapter 4 ("Transportation, Energy, and
the Environment"), Section B ("Transportation Energy Consumption by
Mode"), Table 4-10--Estimated Consumption of Alternative
and Replacement Fuels for Highway Vehicles.
U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical
Abstract, Energy and Utilities. A variety of data on
conventional and renewable energy.
International Energy Agency, Statistics, Renewables. Aggregate renewable energy
production and consumption statistics by country. Specify the
country or region of interest in the pull-down menus. Aggregated
data are reported for "primary solid biomass" and "liquid
biofuels," among other categories.
European Commission, Eurostat, Environment and Energy. Consumption and price
data on biofuels. On the "Data" tab, follow the expanding menus to
find the data of interest. For example, "Environment and Energy
> Energy > Energy Statistics--Quantities" contains supply,
transformation, and consumption data on biofuels.
Ethanol Prices
USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), market news
reports.
- Bioenergy Market News Reports. The
ethanol plant reports and the ethanol corn and coproducts
processing values reports include ethanol price and yield
data.
DOE, EERE, Alternative Fuel Price Report. Reports
prices for alternative transportation fuels in the United States,
including different blends of biodiesel and ethanol, as well as
petroleum fuels for comparison. Click on the publication date of
interest and scroll through the document to find the fuel/location
data.
Agricultural Marketing Resource, Renewable
Energy. Ethanol, corn, and DDG prices are collected and updated
monthly. In the lefthand column, click on "Ethanol" and then
"Prices, Trends, and Markets." The "Ethanol, Corn, and DDGs Prices
at Production Facility by State" spreadsheet includes data for
ethanol, corn, and DDGs in several States. Futures prices are
available by clicking on "Ethanol Futures Prices, Cash Prices, and
Basis by State."
State of Nebraska, Nebraska Energy Office, Ethanol and Unleaded Gasoline Average Rack
Prices. Ethanol and unleaded gasoline rack prices (wholesale
truckload sales or smaller where title transfers at a terminal),
f.o.b. (free on board) Omaha, monthly and annual average, 1982 to
present.
Ethanol Imports and
Exports
Note: Because of different methods of calculation (e.g., levels
of aggregation) and different sources, these sources of trade data
will not always be consistent with one another.
USDA, ERS, Feed Grains Database. Trade data
for ethyl alcohol (ethanol).
- Or use the Feed Grains Custom Queries.
- In Step 1, select "Exports and Imports."
- In Step 2, select either "Imports" or "Exports and Shipments"
if you want data for total U.S. trade. Or select "Imports to U.S.
from specified source" or "Exports from U.S. to specified
destination" if you want country-level data.
- In Step 3, select "Ethyl Alcohol."
- Then select your data frequency (market year, monthly, or
quarterly), countries (for country-level data), and year(s).
USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS).
Searchable database that provides monthly or annual import and
export data for ethyl alcohol for nonbeverage purposes by
country.
- From the main page, select "standard query," and then either
"Exports" or "Imports-Consumption" under "Product Type," Under
"Product Groups," select "Harmonized (HS-10)."
- Under the "Products," select "22 - Beverages, Spirits and
Vinegar" and click on "List Selected Chapters." Choose the
countries or regions of interest, units, and time period.
- Then select codes 2207106000 (undenatured) and 2207200000
(denatured) for data prior to 2012. For data beginning January
2012, use HS codes 2207106010 (ethyl alcohol, undenatured, of an
alcoholic strength by volume of 80 percent or higher, for fuel use)
and 2207200010 (ethyl alcohol and other spirits, denatured, of any
strength, for fuel use).
- Click "Retrieve Data."
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Interactive Tariff
and Trade DataWeb. International trade data for 1989 to the
present on a monthly, quarterly, annual, or year-to-date basis.
Provides ethanol import data and offers ability to extract ethanol
imports destined for fuel transportation use based on rate
provision codes from 1996 to June 2008 and new 10-digit Harmonized
Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes as of July 2008.
- Clicking on ITC Trade DataWeb and create a free account.
For import data from 1996 to June 2008, follow the steps below for
8-digit HTS codes. For July 2008 and thereafter, use the new
10-digit HTS codes (2207106010 for undenatured ethanol and 22072010
for denatured ethanol); it is not necessary to distinguish between
rate provision codes.
- First, on the Main Menu under "Create a New Query/Report" and
"Select Classification System for List and Display," select "HTS
Items" under the "Advanced Searching" category. Leave the other
defaults in place and select "Proceed with New Query."
- On the next screen (Query Design Page):
- In the "Select the Data to Report" box (left side of page),
choose "First Unit of Quantity" and other desired variables. (Hold
down your Ctrl key to select more than one item.)
- Under the "Select Aggregate Level & Type" box (right side
of page), be sure to select "Aggregate all Commodities."
- Click on the "Create a New Commodity List" (left side of page).
In the new box, choose "HTS8Imports," or "HTS10 Imports" and
click on "Select Commodity Level."
- On the next screen:
- Create a name (e.g., ethanol) and click on "Make a New
List."
- Then, select "22 - Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar" in the top
box and click on "Show Items."
- Under the "List of HTS8(or HTS10) Numbers for Selection,"
choose "2207.10.60 (10)" and "2207.20.00 (10)" (hold down the Ctrl
key to choose more than one item).
- To the left, click on the "Copy Number."
- Once the numbers appear in the "Current list," click on "Return
to Query Design Page."
- On the Query Design Page:
- In the "Select Years to display" box, select the year of data
you require.
- In the "Select All Commodities or a Pre-Defined List" box,
select the name you have given for your predefined list.
- To the right of that, in the "Select Aggregate Level &
Type" box, "Aggregate all Commodities" should be the default.
- For full country detail, in the "Select All Countries or a
Pre-defined List" box, select "All Countries."
- In the "Special Import Programs" box, select "All Country Sub
Codes."
- In the "Extended Special Import Programs (1997 to present)"
box, select "All Extended Country Sub Codes."
- In the "Rate Provision Codes" box, leave "All Rate Provision
Codes (default)" as the default.
- To the right of that, in the "Select Rate Provision Code
Aggregation" box, select "Display Rate Provision Codes
Separately."
- In the "District of Entry" box, select "All Districts."
- To the right of that, in the "Select a District Aggregation"
box, select "Aggregate All Districts Together."
- Click on "Proceed to Next Step."
- On the Query Layout Page, pick "units," "country," and,
"rate provision code" in that order and click "Proceed to Next
Step."
- On the Sort Order Page, accept the defaults or revise your
choices. Then click on "Run Report." Prior to July 2008, data
associated with Rate Provision Codes 19, 69, and 79 are ethanol for
fuel transportation use. The data does not include imports from
U.S. insular possessions.
DOE, EIA, Petroleum Publications, Company Level Imports. Data on petroleum
products, including ethanol, imported by companies into the United
States. Click on "Company Level Imports" for a spreadsheet with the
most recent data.
European Commission, Eurostat, Environment and Energy. Import and export data
on biofuels. On the "Statistic" tab, follow the expanding menus to
find the data of interest. "Environment and Energy > Energy >
Energy Statistics--Quantities" contains imports (by country of
origin) and exports (by country of destination).
Ethanol Feedstocks
USDA, ERS, Feed Outlook. Monthly analyses of world
and U.S. production, consumption, trade, stocks, and prices for
feed grains (focusing on corn). "Table 1--Feed grains: Marketing
year supply and disappearance" and "Table 5--Corn: Food and
industrial uses" include estimates for the current marketing
year.
USDA, ERS, Feed Grains Database. Supply,
disappearance, trade, and prices for corn.
- For historical data on corn used for fuel alcohol, use the Feed Grains
Custom Queries.
- In Step 1, select "Supply and Use."
- In Step 2, select "Utilization, in alcohol for fuel."
- Corn is the only commodity available in Step 3.
- Select data frequency (market year or quarterly) and
year(s).
USDA, ERS, Agricultural Baseline
Database. Longrun, 10-year projections for major field crops
and livestock from USDA's annual baseline report, which is
published annually in February.
Customized projections for ethanol can be created by selecting
"Corn" in "Commodity" box and "Ethanol for fuel" in the "Attribute"
box.
USDA, AMS, Bioenergy Market News Reports. The corn
and corn coproducts processing values reports include weekly data
on corn prices and coproduct values.
Ethanol
Coproducts
USDA, ERS, Feed
Yearbook. Trade data for brewers' and distillers' dregs
and wastes (the distillers' dried grains from ethanol plants). See
Table 34-U.S. exports of
brewers' and distillers' dregs and waste by selected
destinations and Table 35-U.S. imports of
brewers' and distillers' dregs and waste by selected
sources.
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Ethanol Co-Products Used For Livestock Feed.
Survey of beef, dairy, and hog producers in 12 Midwestern States to
determine use of distillers grains, essential feed characteristics,
and concerns keeping producers from using distillers grains. Data
on feed per animal and average price per ton are in the
"Co-Products Fed by Type" table on pages 3 and 4.
USDA, AMS, market news reports.
- Bioenergy Market News Reports.
- The ethanol corn and coproducts processing values reports
provide weekly yield and price data for distillers dried grains
(DDGs) and the difference between the corn price and coproduct
value.
- Ethanol plant reports quote offers for dried, wet, and modified
wet distillers grains.
- National Weekly Ethanol Summary.
Synthesizes DDGs prices into one
report.
U.S. Department of Commerce; U.S. Census Bureau; Manufacturing,
Mining, and Construction Statistics; Current Industrial Reports.
- M311J Fats and Oils: Oilseed Crushing. Data on
corn use for meal, feed, and aggregate reported distillers grains.
This series was discontinued in August 2011.
- In the monthly reports, corn product data are in Table 4b.
- In the monthly summaries, corn product data are reported in
Table 4.
Biodiesel Production and Use
USDA, ERS, Oil Crops Outlook. Monthly and annual
U.S. disappearance of methyl esters from soybeans (a proxy for
soybean-oil based biodiesel production) are in Table 3-Soybean oil: U.S. supply
and disappearance. 
USDA, ERS, Agricultural Long-Term Projections. These
annual reports include some specific features on bioenergy and
explicit projections for corn ethanol and soybean-based
biodiesel.
U.S. Department of Commerce; U.S. Census Bureau; Manufacturing,
Mining, and Construction Statistics; Current Industrial Reports.
- 311K Fats and Oils: Production, Consumption, and
Stocks. (After) 2005, methyl esters produced from different
categories of oils, fats, and greases are broken out as a separate
category under "inedible products" in the monthly and annual
reports. This series was discontinued in August 2011.
- Table 3a contains data on total quantity consumed.
- Table 4 (Table 4a in the annual report) contains data on
production, consumption, and stocks.
U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical
Abstract, Energy and Utilities. Includes a variety of
data on conventional and renewable energy.
DOE, EERE, alternative fuels reports.
- Fuels data. U.S. biodiesel production
estimates. Under the "Trends" heading, click on "U.S. Biodiesel
Production."
DOE, EIA, Annual Energy Review. Historical annual energy
statistics. Section 10 is Renewable Energy. The "Fuel Ethanol Overview
and Biodiesel Overview" is in Section 10.3 and 10.4.
International Energy Agency, Statistics, Renewables. Aggregate renewable energy
production and consumption statistics by country. Specify the
country or region of interest in the pull-down menus. Aggregated
data are reported for "primary solid biomass" and "liquid
biofuels," among other categories.
Biodiesel Prices
USDA, AMS, market news reports.
DOE, EERE, alternative fuel reports. Semi-annual data on
biodiesel prices.
- Alternative Fuel Price Report. Reported prices
for alternative transportation fuels in the United States,
including different blends of biodiesel and ethanol, as well as
petroleum fuels for comparison. Click on the publication date of
interest and scroll through the document to find the fuel/location
data.
- Fuels data. U.S. biodiesel price estimates.
Under the "Fuel" heading, click on "Average Retail Fuel Prices in
the U.S."
Biodiesel
Feedstocks
USDA, ERS, Oil Crops Outlook. Supply, disappearance,
trade, and prices of soybean oil, a main feedstock for U.S.
biodiesel.
University and
Commercial Sources
Sun Grant
BioWeb. The Sun Grant Initiative is a federally funded
initiative among universities and Federal laboratories to
coordinate research efforts related to a "biobased economy." The
initiative comprises representatives from five Regional Centers, including many universities.
Click on the regional center of interest to learn more about
participating institutions and the data they offer.
CME Group
Energy Products. Current and historical ethanol prices, as well
as the Ethanol
Outlook Report, which contains information regarding ethanol
trading.
Renewable
Fuels Association. Information on U.S. and global ethanol
production, U.S. ethanol capacity, plant locations, and other
indicators.
National
Biodiesel Board. Articles and reports on biodiesel-related
topics, including estimates of U.S. biodiesel operating capacity
and use.