World Perspectives
feed-grains biofuel

Wet Weather Impacting Ethanol

Ethanol producers were already dealing with building inventories, lower blending rates and cheaper crude oil (U.S. crude production was up 17 percent in 2018). Now the recent flooding has impacted 10-15 percent of ethanol production in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. The biggest impact has been from the shutdown of rail lines that deliver corn and ship out ethanol production. Feedstock use is dropping further while ethanol inventories are building, depressing local hub prices. The lack of deliveries is driving up retail fuel prices, especially on the West Coast.

The bottleneck in the ethanol value chain comes as production was already slowing due to broader market and policy factors. Corn use by ethanol mills dropped 4 percent in Janua...

Related Articles
soy-oilseeds

U.S. Soy & Product Export Trends

With soybean and soy product exports frequently in the headlines amid the ongoing tariff and policy shifts from Washington, examining export trends is increasingly important. Thursday’s updated Export Sales report from the USDA offered some interesting statistics for these markets, and WP...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Stable Policy, Conditional Demand, Weather Emerging as the Next Risk

Key Market Developments While tariffs were not addressed directly in the State of the Union, trade policy remains steady. Reports during today’s session confirmed that U.S. tariffs on China will remain in the 35 percent–50 percent range, signaling limited escalation ahead of upcomin...

Policy Roundup

Fuzzy Math Among President Trump’s various assertions in last night’s State of the Union address was that tariffs would someday replace the income tax, but that is a mathematical impossibility. The value of imported goods is around $3 trillion, and the income tax generates nearly $5...

soy-oilseeds

U.S. Soy & Product Export Trends

With soybean and soy product exports frequently in the headlines amid the ongoing tariff and policy shifts from Washington, examining export trends is increasingly important. Thursday’s updated Export Sales report from the USDA offered some interesting statistics for these markets, and WP...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Stable Policy, Conditional Demand, Weather Emerging as the Next Risk

Key Market Developments While tariffs were not addressed directly in the State of the Union, trade policy remains steady. Reports during today’s session confirmed that U.S. tariffs on China will remain in the 35 percent–50 percent range, signaling limited escalation ahead of upcomin...

Policy Roundup

Fuzzy Math Among President Trump’s various assertions in last night’s State of the Union address was that tariffs would someday replace the income tax, but that is a mathematical impossibility. The value of imported goods is around $3 trillion, and the income tax generates nearly $5...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.42/bushel, up $0.035 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $5.6975/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.65/bushel, up $0.0975 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $321.8/short ton, up $7.4 from...

Image
From WPI Consulting

Weighing in on strategic realignment

WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.

Search World Perspectives

Sign In to World Perspectives

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up