June US biodiesel production at 151 million gallons

U.S. production of biodiesel was 151 million gallons in June, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, down 1 million gallons from May's revised production figure of 152 million gallons.

When May's numbers came out in late August, the EIA had originally reported that the biodiesel production volume for May was 147 million gallons.

Total feedstock consumption in June for domestic biodiesel production 1.136 billion pounds, with soybean oil remaining the most used feedstock at 747 million pounds, or roughly 66 percent―down from 70 percent in May but up from 57 percent in February. Ethanol plant and restaurant closures during the spring at the onset of the pandemic led to a decrease in distillers corn and used cooking oils, respectively, and contributed to the runup in soybean oil usage.

Distillers corn oil use for biodiesel production in June was 94 million pounds, down from 177 million pounds in the pre-pandemic month of January.

Tallow use was 21 million pounds in June, up from 12 million in May but down from 24 million in April.

Yellow grease use in June was 70 million gallons, up from 51 million gallons in May but still down significantly from pre-pandemic levels in January, which topped out at 115 million pounds.

White grease consumption in June was 53 million pounds, up from 40 million in May.