Four cars of renderer bleachable fancy tallow (BFT) traded sideways today at 47 cents Chicago. The monthly average for both grades of BFT was the highest February number since 2012 and the highest monthly average since May 2014. Packer BFT prices are up 20 cents per pound since bottoming out in July.

The EIA released biodiesel production and inputs data today to round out 2020. Animal fat usage was strong in December, but soybean oil was the dominant feedstock by a wide margin. The ratio of soybean oil to animal fats was 396 percent in December and the average for 2020 is 411 percent. By comparison, in 2019 biodiesel producers used 3 times as much soybean oil as total animal fats and in 2018 2.67 times as much. The trend for heavier bean oil usage illustrates two trends that dominated the market through much of the year, tighter supplies of animal fats (including yellow grease and UCO) and the shift of more of the animal fats into the renewable diesel sector.

For the…