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 December had a total combined production capacity of 12.96 million tons per year and collectively had the equivalent of 2,467 full-time employees.
Respondents purchased 1.79 million tons of raw biomass feedstock in December, produced 880,000 tons of densified biomass fuel and sold 960,000 tons of densified biomass fuel. Production included 138,810 tons of heating pellets and 750,597 tons of utility pellets.
Domestic sales of densified biomass fuel in December reached 147,605 tons at an average price of $221.71 per ton. Exports in December reached 813,995 tons at an average price of $184.18 per ton.
Inventories of premium/standard pellets expanded to 1190,268 tons in December, up from 183,314 tons in November. Inventories of utility pellets fell to 428,085 tons in December, down from 555,666 tons in November.
Data gathered by the EIA shows that total U.S. densified biomass fuel capacity reached 13.05 million tons in December, with all of that capacity listed as currently operating or temporarily not in operation. Capacity included 1.97 million tons in the East, 10.28 million tons in the South, and 794,200 tons in the West.
