Fueling The Fire: German Biodiesel Ignites Archer-Daniels-Midland's Dominance in U.S. Imports

US: Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. continued to lead Biodiesel imports into the US at the start of 2023. However, the data revealed that the agricultural processing giant relied heavily on Germany for its biofuel production.

In January, ADM supplied 24.948 million gallons of Biodiesel imports to the US, with 72.4%, or 18.06 million gallons, originating from Germany. The remaining 6.888 million gallons were imported from Canada. Despite a 1% decrease from the previous month, ADM's Biodiesel import total nearly doubled its deliveries from the previous year and accounted for approximately 63.9% of all US Biodiesel imports in January.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Biodiesel imports in January rose by 9.3% compared to December, totalling 39.06 million gallons. This import total more than doubled the figures from the same period the previous year. ADM's Biodiesel imports in January consisted of German and Canadian shipments. German deliveries accounted for nearly 6.9 million gallons into Newark and another 6.678 million gallons into Perth Amboy, with a further 2.982 million gallons that went on to Houston and 1.512 million gallons into Cape Canaveral, Florida.

ADM's Canadian imports included 3.528 million gallons of Biodiesel, which shipped to International Falls, Minn., and 2.898 million gallons to Blaine, Wash., along with another 462,000 gallons that were delivered to Eastport, Idaho. Other Biodiesel importers also took advantage of the increased demand, significantly boosting their shipments in January.

GreenAmerica Biofuels Ord LLC saw a significant surge in their biofuel import with 7.434 million gallons in January, a 52.5% increase from the previous month, and over five times more than what was delivered last year. The importer procured Biodiesel from various overseas providers, including 2.898 million gallons sourced from Italy, of which 2.688 million gallons were delivered to Savannah, GA, and 210,000 gallons to Jacksonville, FL. Moreover, GreenAmerica received a total of 3.276 million gallons of Biodiesel from Spain, including 2.394 million gallons that were imported into Jacksonville, FL, and the remaining 882,000 gallons that were delivered to Houston, TX. Additionally, they received 1.26 million gallons of Biodiesel from South Korea, which was shipped to Los Angeles, CA.

Shell PLC's Shell U.S. Trading arm increased its Biodiesel imports in January, bringing in a total of 3.402 million gallons from Canada - double the amount from the previous month. The majority of this, at 2.814 million gallons, was delivered to Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y., with the remainder sent to Champlain-Rouses Point, N.Y., and Blaine, Wash.

Meanwhile, Vitol reduced its Biodiesel shipments from Spain to Houston by 21.1% from December, but still delivered 2.982 million gallons, more than double the amount imported by the company last year.

In January, EIA's Biodiesels import list was completed by Targray Markets Inc's small-scale delivery of Canadian Biodiesel, which summed up to 294,000 gallons. Storage in Portal, N.D. received 252,000 gallons of Biodiesel through Targray, while Sweetgrass, Mont., received a shipment of 42,000 gallons.

EIA's latest monthly report for 2023 indicates that Biodiesel importers are exploring a wider array of sources to import the fuel. ADM's German deliveries made Germany the top source for U.S. Biodiesel imports in January, with over 18 million gallons imported.

Based on EIA data, Canada's traditional leadership in renewable diesel imports fell behind in January, with only 10.58 million gal. Meanwhile, Spain trumped the list by contributing 6.258 million gal of imported Biodiesel, with Italy following closely with nearly 2.9 million gal. South Korea was also a player in the market, accounting for 1.26 million gal.

On the other hand, renewable diesel imports declined for the second consecutive month, with a total of 26.586 million gal delivered out of Singapore by Neste Oyj in January. This figure represented a 5.5% dip or 1.554-million-gal monthly decline. Despite this, Neste imports only fell short by a razor-thin margin of 0.16% compared to the same month in the previous year.

In January, Neste, the Finnish producer, achieved its highest shipment of renewable diesel with a 14.91-million-gal load delivered to Los Angeles. Additionally, Neste sent 10.542 million gal of renewable diesel to San Francisco and 1.134 million gal to Portland, Ore. According to EIA's data, no company imported Ethanol to U.S ports in January. This is the second consecutive month that the agency has not recorded any overseas fuel Ethanol shipments entering the country. During the same period last year, EIA documented around 10.8 million gal of imported Ethanol entering the U.S.