According to the EIA, ethanol rail movements rebounded to a six month high level throughout Dec ’21, finishing 10.6% above previous year levels. The YOY increase in monthly ethanol rail movements was the third experienced in a row. 2021 annual ethanol rail movements rebounded 9.0% from the five year low level experienced throughout the previous year.

12 month rolling average ethanol rail movements have ranged from 60% – 69% of monthly ethanol production, historically. Dec ’21 ethanol rail movements accounted for 68.3% of monthly production on a 12 month rolling average basis, reaching a four month high level. 12 month rolling average ethanol rail movements as a percentage of production reached a record high level of 68.9% throughout July of 2021.

Ethanol rail movement figures are broken out by Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD) for both originating rail movements and destinations of shipments. The U.S. is regionally divided into five PADDs, which include the East Coast, Midwest, Gulf Coast, Rocky Mountain and West Coast.

99% of the total rail movements originated in PADD 2 (Midwest) during Dec ’21. Over 9.5 million barrels of ethanol rail movements were destined to PADD 1 (East Coast) during Dec ’21, leading all regional districts.

Ethanol rail movements destined to PADD 1 (East Coast) accounted for over two fifths of the total shipments during Dec ’21. Combined shipments to PADD 1 (East Coast), PADD 3 (Gulf Coast) and PADD 5 (West Coast) accounted for nearly 90% of total ethanol rail movements, with minimal amounts being shipped to PADD 2 (Midwest), Canada and PADD 4 (Rocky Mountain).

Ethanol rail movements destined to PADD 3 (Gulf Coast) finished most significantly above historical average figures throughout Dec ’21 while ethanol movements destined to PADD 5 (West Coast) finished most significantly below historical average figures.