Biodiesel production may not slow as much as some expect during May

The April EPA Moderated Transaction System (EMTS) data for April showed that biodiesel consumption fell by less than one percent and renewable diesel consumption was down 17 percent.  This pales in comparison to the 44 percent decline in ethanol consumption.

This might be the case once again in May.  Gasoline and diesel demand both have declined during the pandemic. However, gasoline demand fell much harder as people stayed at home under “stay at home” orders.   Diesel is more of the workhorse in the transportation fuel sector and continued to see more constant demand than gasoline did. April saw more severe declines than May, which might lead to an EMTS repeat for May when the data is released.

The sharper decline in gasoline demand accompanied by a more moderate diesel decline is likely to benefit California’s LCFS program, at least as…