EIA: Densified biomass fuel sales at 940,000 tons in October

The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently released data showing U.S. manufacturers produced approximately 940,000 tons of densified biomass fuel in October, with sales reaching 940,000 tons.

The data was released as part of the January edition of EIA’s Monthly Densified Biomass Fuels Report, which contains data for October. The EIA collected data from 80 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. Those smaller facilities report data annually rather than monthly.

The 80 manufacturers surveyed for October had a total combined production capacity of 13.3 million tons per year and collectively had the equivalent of 2,579 full-time employees.

Respondents purchased 2.27 million tons of raw biomass feedstock in October, produced 940,000 tons of densified biomass fuel and sold 940,000 million tons of densified biomass fuel. Production included 175,494 tons of heating pellets and 772,690 tons of utility pellets.

Domestic sales of densified biomass fuel in October reached 225,760tons at an average price of $212.23 per ton. Exports in October reached 719,503 tons at an average price of $193.98 per ton.

Inventories of premium/standard pellets fell to 142,089 tons in October, down from 185,503 tons in September. Inventories of utility pellets expanded to 385,816 tons in October, up from 383,321 tons in September.

Data gathered by the EIA shows that total U.S. densified biomass fuel capacity reached 13.39 million tons in October, with all of that capacity listed as currently operating or temporarily not in operation. Capacity included 1.97 million tons in the East, 10.51 million tons in the South, and 908,700 tons in the West.