**Please Note – Bob Lane was out of the office today and will return on December 23.**

‘Unconcentrated’ U.S. Ethanol Industry to Remain Competitive

The U.S. ethanol market should continue to be competitive and free from price-fixing since it largely remains unconcentrated, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in its annual market report released on December 1.

“The low level of concentration and large number of market participants in the U.S. ethanol production industry continue to suggest that the exercise of market power to set prices, or coordinate on price or output levels, is unlikely on a nationwide basis,” the annual report said. 

The FTC said U.S. ethanol production capacity was nearly unchanged, while actual production was down since the 2020 report. Production capacity, including capacity under construction, totaled 17.8 billion gallons per year. Actual output from July 2020 through June 2021…