Sept. 22—As harvest approaches, DDGS prices are starting to pick up steam. Some of it is due to seasonal downtime, some of it is the beginning of fall demand, and some of it is due to heavy demand from the export sector, especially for containers. 
 
 Traditionally, Chicago has been the predominant area to load containers, but there has been a huge influx in railcar demand from the West Coast. Cars are being transloaded into containers at or near the container ports. Buyers had previously been successful in waiting for the market to come down so were caught off guard by the uptick in values and stepped in to buy, to ensure not missing the market.
 
 Barge values have been steady, with increases coming primarily as a response to increased barge freight. The flurry of business in the Gulf of Mexico at the beginning of the summer was followed by an uneventful August and September.
 
 A looming issue that will affect DDGS is the potential for enforcement of regulations that require ships hauling distillers grains, in both containers and bulk, to have CO2 fire suppression equipment. Only roughly half of the bulk fleet possesses this type of equipment, so the requirement could greatly diminish available freight and drive up ocean freight prices.
 The obvious impact on the market is going to be the corn crop—specifically the quality of the crop and the potential for toxins due to conditions and lateness of the crop. EP

Prices increase, export demand continues

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Upcoming Events

North American SAF Conference & Expo

2026 International Biomass Conference & Expo

Prices increase, export demand continues