From the Director’s Desk: October EIA Data Dive, Winter Shows Up, Membership Renewal Season is Here
October EIA Data Dive
Last week’s October update to the Monthly Densified Biomass Report revealed that after a stronger start to 2023 and a lack of early-fall cold weather dampened sales in the early part of the 2023-24 heating season, the year is looking more and more like a repeat of the ‘meh’ 2022 year.
The highlights (average in parentheses):
U.S. Total Sales – 220,832 tons (237,599)
U.S. Total Production – 185,593 tons (168,185)
U.S. Total Inventory – 202,668 tons (248,523)
Some notables:
- We’ve been watching the inventory levels for the Western region after bottoming out at just 12,682 tons in March. The region finished October at 46,467 tons, right in line with last year’s 44,994 tons. Producers in the West continue to produce at levels significantly higher than last year. To date, producers in the West have produced 44,000 more tons of wood pellets (382,516 tons) than 2022 (338,538 tons).
- Not surprisingly, October saw each region achieve its highest sales totals of the year. 128,647 tons in the East, 32,544 in the South and 59,641 tons in the West.
- Wholesale pellet prices remain strong. The East and the West both reported wholesale pellet price averages over $235.
Winter Shows Up
This week saw a major winter storm roll across the Midwest, the Great Lakes, and the Northeast, dumping snow and ice with a polar vortex predicted to flow in behind all of that. This weeks’ Photo of the Week is the 8-14 Day Temperature Outlook for January 15-21 from the Climate Prediction Center. It suggests colder than normal temperatures can be expected across much of the country. In this week’s Pellet Fuels Institute Heating Degree Day Index, only Portland, Maine and Wausau, Wisconsin are more than 10% ahead of last year’s accumulated HDD pace. It will be interesting to see if other markets surge ahead of last year with this spate of cold air.
Membership Renewal Season is Here
With the close of the 2023 calendar year behind us, the organization is now squarely in renewal season. Thank you to those producers who have already renewed. Renewal can be completed on the Pellet Fuels Institute website or by calling the Pellet Fuels Institute Office. Membership tiers are determined by a three-year rolling average of wood pellet sales so you’ll need to have 2023 sales numbers available to execute on your renewal. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the office with any challenges or questions!
