Greeting from the CEO
May 15, 2025
According to Market Research, the global Ethanol market is experiencing a dynamic surge, driven by a confluence of factors that highlight its role as a key player in the transition towards a more sustainable energy future. Ethanol, derived from renewable sources like corn and sugarcane, is gaining traction as a cleaner and more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional gasoline. This market is evolving rapidly, fueled by the growing demand for biofuels, the increasing adoption of ethanol blends in gasoline, and the growing awareness of the need for sustainable energy solutions.
Unfortunately, this surge in demand has not equated to higher profits for the U.S. ethanol plants. The last 6 months have had the lowest crush margins we have seen in several years. Hopefully, when summer driving season starts, we will see an increase in margins, but as oil prices decline, so does our optimism of better margins. The declined value of DDGs and syrup has also contributed to our reduction in plant profitability. The projections for the rest of 2025 are not even close to what was received in 2023 and 2024. Stay tuned; it may improve, but I am not optimistic it will happen. I am hoping that I am wrong, but time will tell. It has been a lean first quarter. We hope to improve profitability for the rest of this year, but not as good as we generated in the past several years. I wish I had better news, but I am just trying to be realistic.
As of March 31, 2025, United Ethanol produced 14,048,587 gallons of ethanol. The plant also produced 32,735 tons of dried distillers’ grains (DDGs) and extracted 4,050,704 pounds of corn oil.