U.S. manufacturers produced approximately 830,000 tons of densified biomass fuels in January, according to the April edition of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Monthly Densified Biomass Fuels Report. Sales of densified biomass fuel reached 650,000 tons during the month.

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 January had a total combined production capacity of 13.17 million tons per year and collectively had the equivalent of 2,404 full-time employees.

Respondents purchased 1.55 million tons of raw biomass feedstock in January, produced 830,000 tons of densified biomass fuel and sold 650,000 tons of densified biomass fuel. Production included 142,323 tons of heating pellets and 693,119 tons of utility pellets.

Domestic sales of densified biomass fuel in January reached 140,869 tons at an average price of $226.72 per ton. Exports in January reached 516,492 tons at an average price of $198.29 per ton.

Inventories of premium/standard pellets expanded to 192,787 tons in January, up from 190,268 tons in December. Inventories of utility pellets reached 411,965 tons in January, up from 305,051 tons in December.

Data gathered by the EIA shows that total U.S. densified biomass fuel capacity reached 13.05 million tons in January, 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.