US biomass-based diesel production in July rose by 10.21% from June to 166.36 million gallons, according to data released Thursday through the US Environmental Protection Agency's Moderated Transaction System website.
Monthly biomass-based diesel production was at the highest level since December 2011.
Biodiesel producer and trader sources said the rise in production was not surprising, as prompt prices had consistently hit record highs throughout July. On a flood of foreign imports and strong domestic production, US biodiesel assessments have cooled off in August, as Chicago SME biodiesel was assessed at $4.9585/gal Wednesday, a 16-cent month-on-month drop.
Monthly biodiesel production has risen for six of the past seven months since the January 2 return of the $1/gal biodiesel blending tax credit, alongside a 10 cents/gal credit for agricultural biodiesel producers.
With the 2013 biodiesel target for the Renewable Fuels Standard-2 at 1.28 billion gallons, total domestic biodiesel production had accounted for 68.16% of the targeted mandate just one month past the halfway point.
Based on the pace through July, total biomass-based diesel production is projected at roughly 1.495 billion gallons.
Monthly biodiesel production, indicated in the biomass-based diesel (D4) category by the EPA, met the 1 billion gallon 2012 biodiesel target for the RFS-2, totaling 1.1 billion gallons last year.
