From the Director’s Desk: December EIA Data Offers Year-End Look, PFI Conference Agenda Announced
December 2025 (5-year average) - in tons
East
Sales – 101,057 (90,997)
Production – 88,506 (88,877)
Inventory – 34,754 (85,855)
West
Sales – 33,852 (36,645)
Production – 25,129 (31,686)
Inventory – 79,430 (51,855)
South
Sales – 24,909 (26,692)
Production – 15,991 (14,743)
Inventory – 4,050 (28,195)
All U.S.
Sales – 159,818 (154,335)
Production – 129,626 (135,309)
Inventory – 118,234 (165,916)
Late last week, the Energy Information Administration published the December 2025 data for their Monthly Densified Biomass Fuel Report, taking a big step forward in bringing that report’s publication schedule back to normal AND finally bringing into sharp focus the 2025 calendar year and where the industry found itself at the end of the year.
U.S. pellet sales finished the year at 1.62 million tons, up about 5% from last year. The U.S. total sales were blunted by a particularly soft year out West, with that region posting just 365,926 tons, the second straight year it has fallen well below the 5-year average of 406,141 tons. Cold temperatures throughout the East drove sales over a million tons, with the year-end for the region ending up 1.07 million tons. The last four months of the year were particularly strong in the East, with September – December sales reaching 470,588 tons, up from 378,014 tons over the same period in 2024. Those 92,574 tons generated an additional $22.7 million in revenue.
Nationwide, production sagged to a 10-year low, with total production finishing the year at just 1,544,593 tons. In the East, production for the year was 981,330 tons, about 90% of the 5-year average. In the West, the downturn in production was more stark, with manufacturers producing 336,338 tons, about 75% of the 5-year average. The downturn out West is understandable as producers are no doubt eyeing swelling inventory and lackluster sales. Summertime inventories in the West were well over 100,000 tons, and strong demand never really emerged as the region spent most of the winter in mild temperatures and light snowfall.
Production in the East lagged 5-year averages each month. Months that normally saw production in the 80,000 range came in in the 70,000 range. Ninety thousand tons per month saw production in the 80,000 range, and by year's end, the region had missed its 5-year average by over 100,000 tons. As Heating Degree Day counts started to stack up, exceeding the prior year totals in some locales by 15-20%, inventory plummeted. From the summertime peak of 184,497 tons inventory fell 150,000 tons to just 34,754 tons at the end of December. January numbers will be telling as every producer operating in the East was feeling a strong market pull and watching as their own pellet stocks were being rapidly depleted.
The open question for me is “Were producers in the East able to respond and post above-average production numbers in January and February of 2026?”
PFI Conference Agenda Announced
In June (15-17), the Pellet Fuels Institute Board of Directors and our members will gather in Point Clear, Alabama, to recap the year, connect with industry friends, and discuss the future of the wood pellet heating and cooking industry. While the conference is so much more than our panel discussions, they are a vital part of our annual gathering.
Each year, we endeavor to build an agenda that fosters conversations about the wood pellet business with a look upstream at our fiber partners and downstream towards the retailers that sell wood pellet appliances and wood pellet fuel. Our goal is simple: We want the PFI Annual Conference to offer the most comprehensive look at the wood pellet category available anywhere in the country. I’m excited about this year’s agenda, and while there are a couple of invitations still outstanding, I can say confidently that this year’s agenda is the organization’s strongest yet.
Our goal when building the agenda was to feature a blend of rearward-looking recaps of what turned out to be a very dynamic year, conversations with segment leaders in fuel manufacturing, appliance manufacturing, and hearth retailing, as well as a conversation about other value-added wood fiber manufacturing. I think we’ve accomplished that. Please give our agenda a thorough once-over. I think you’ll find plenty that might pique your interest. I’ll kick off our conference day (Wednesday, June 17th) with a recap of the year. If you are a fan of the monthly analysis I offer here based on the most recent release of EIA data, you’ll like my opening recap. If you’ve been hearing a lot about bio-char and/or bio-carbon, we’ve put a panel together featuring three professionals with deep experience in the wood fiber category who have been immersed in bio-char and can shed some light on where that industry is in its maturation process and the opportunities it presents for wood pellet manufacturers. We will once again be joined by Darrell Smith from the Advanced Woody Biomass Alliance, who will be joined by Harold Arnold (Fram) to discuss the state of play in the industrial wood pellet sector.
I’m especially excited about my conversation with Brett Jordan (Lignetics), Chris Vogtman (Hearth & Home Technologies), and Eddy Chumley (Tractor Supply Co.), each a major player in their respective corner of the broader wood pellet heating and cooking space. We will dig into our collective challenges and opportunities as we work to serve our shared customers who have made the decision to utilize wood pellets to heat their homes, cook their briskets, and keep their pets and animals clean and dry.
Expect another update once we finish populating our retailer panel, but I’d urge anyone working in this sector to make some time for our event. There’s golf. The hotel is tucked right next to Mobile Bay and will offer a comfortable stay while our attendees network, share stories from the season and ponder the future of the industry where we all make our living.
Explore the conference schedule.
