The EIA collected data from 77 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 77 manufacturers surveyed for June had a total combined production capacity of 13.32 million tons per year and collectively had the equivalent of 2,568 full-time employees.
Respondents purchased 1.6 million tons of raw biomass feedstock in June, produced 910,000 tons of densified biomass fuel and sold 900,000 tons of densified biomass fuel. Production included 136,296 tons of heating pellets and 776,257 tons of utility pellets.
Domestic sales of densified biomass fuel in June reached 167,210 tons at an average price of $251.91 per ton. Exports in June reached 734,710 tons at an average price of $193.92 per ton.
Inventories of premium/standard pellets fell to 327,721 tons in June, down from 393,404 tons in May. Inventories of utility pellets expanded to 639,592 tons in June, up from 512,502 tons in May.
Data gathered by the EIA shows that total U.S. densified biomass fuel capacity reached 13.43 million tons in June, with all of that capacity listed as currently operating or temporarily not in operation. Capacity included 1.97 million tons in the East, 10.67 million tons in the South, and 797,200 tons in the West.
