Biodiesel Margins Decline Following Late Year Run

Biodiesel Margins strengthened during the fourth quarter but have lost ground in recent weeks. One Midwest producer The Jacobsen spoke with stated margins are basically a wash against current offers. 

Vertically integrated producers are enjoying better margins due to crush operations that allow the processing of soybean oil and provide a good value for crushing beans. Stand-alone biodiesel plants are likely struggling and may need to see margins further above total projected costs before there is adequate incentive to operate.

Many plants do not have the luxury of picking and choosing when to operate, given contracts in place. One West Coast producer commented that “margins are not good right now, but we typically run 100 percent of the time. He went on to say “if RINs and LCFS prices come up after the first of the year, we should be okay because the differentials…