Stocked Up
Floods in the Midwest will likely cut into this year’s corn production, and there will be ripple effects for the ethanol market. But as the good folks at GoodFuels.org point out, there are reserve supplies of both products.
Because of last year’s bumper corn crop, the USDA projects beginning stocks of 1.4 billion bushels as of June. That so-called “carry-in” supply will help ensure that grain is available in the event of a short crop this year.
Meanwhile, according to the Energy Information Administration, ethanol stocks totaled 11.4 million barrels at the end of March. That’s almost 500 million gallons of ethanol in storage and available to gasoline blenders.
It’s good to be stocked up.
Sources:
Good Fuels. “Floods Don’t Mean Doom for Ethanol.” June 18, 2008.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. “World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates.” June 10, 2008.
