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 December had a total combined production capacity of 13.34 million tons per year and collectively had the equivalent of 2,438 full-time employees.
Respondents purchased 1.53 million tons of raw biomass feedstock in December, produced 900,000 tons of densified biomass fuel and sold 920,000 tons of densified biomass fuel. Production included 121,284 tons of heating pellets and 781,118 tons of utility pellets.
Domestic sales of densified biomass fuel in December reached 141,291 tons at an average price of $229.27 per ton. Exports in December reached 779,012 tons at an average price of $196.75 per ton.
Inventories of premium/standard pellets fell to 250,018 tons in December, down from 263,397 tons in November. Inventories of utility pellets fell to 462,086 tons in December, down from 481,824 tons in November.
Data gathered by the EIA shows that total U.S. densified biomass fuel capacity reached 13.43 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, 10.67 million tons in the South, and 797,200 tons in the West.
