From the Director’s Desk: A Look at June Pellet Data
A Look at June Pellet Data
I delayed production of this week’s Pellet Wire as long as I could because my contacts at the Energy Information Administration indicated that the June data for the Monthly Densified Biomass Fuel Report would be published on Wednesday afternoon (the normal Pellet Wire deadline). This data set offers our sector the best look we can get at the marketplace in aggregate, and its recent stretch of unpredictable publication dates has given rise to an untethered feeling within the wood pellet manufacturing community. Individual producers have their own data and know just where they are relative to last year, but what about everyone else? Has their market share remained steady? So, seeing that the June data was now available, I couldn’t imagine not starting this edition of the Pellet Wire with an analysis of what happened in June.
Starting with the big picture and the bottom line, U.S. total sales through June were 649,179 tons, slightly up from last year’s 637,393 tons. After a first quarter that saw total sales well ahead of the 2024 pace (369,637 tons in 25 vs. 291,812 tons in 24), total sales came back to last year’s pace with three consecutive months of falling short of last year’s totals (including June).
Manufacturers continue to modulate production, with total production for the month coming in at 121,047 tons, more than last year’s 115,753 tons but still well off the five-year average of 142,766 tons.
In all but the Southern region, inventory levels are above five-year averages, with the West significantly above its five-year average of 73,052, with nearly 120,000 tons of pellets on the ground. In speaking with producers, output is sometimes curtailed simply because there is nowhere left to land the finished product. Inventories typically peak in July, and I suspect that if August and September sales are brisk, production will increase.
June Data (5-year average) in tons
East
Sales – 87,474 (96,093)
Production – 76,082 (84,420)
Inventory – 168,911 (149,422)
West
Sales – 36,629 (37,578)
Production – 29,236, (35,161)
Inventory – 118,398 (73,052)
South
Sales – 11,651 (22,366)
Production – 15,729, (17,122)
Inventory – 27,882 (52,123)
All U.S.
Sales – 135,754 (156,366)
Production – 121,047 (142,766)
Inventory – 315,191 (274,597)
—Tim Portz
Executive Director
