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Domestic US biofuel producers consumed a record 1.56 billion pounds of soybean oil in June, according to data released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) on September 1. The figure marked a 9% increase from the previous high of 1.43 billion pounds recorded in May, and was 49% higher year-on-year compared with 1.043 billion pounds used in June 2025.
The US biodiesel sector accounted for 790 million pounds of that total, up 5.8% from 747 million pounds in May. Renewable diesel producers used 766 million pounds, up 11.5% from 687 million pounds the month before.
The surge in soybean oil consumption follows the finalization of US biofuel blending mandates for 2026-2027 and updates earlier this year to the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit. In June, soybean oil represented 41.2% of the total US low carbon-intensity (CI) feedstock pool, up from 39% in May and 36% in April.
Soybean oil's share of the US feedstock mix had slipped to 30-35% in 2024 and 2025, after reaching highs of 50-60% in 2020-2022, due to softer US demand and cheaper imports of low CI feedstocks.
The EIA data also showed the domestic biofuel sector consumed 320 million pounds of canola oil in June, up 9.2% from 293 million pounds in May, lifting canola's share of the total feedstock mix to 8.5% from 8%.
Tallow usage declined to 754 million pounds in June, down 5.2% from 796 million pounds in May, representing almost 20% of the total feedstock pool, down from 22% the month before.
For a second consecutive month, biofuel producers used less distillers corn oil (DCO), consuming 365 million pounds in June, down 20% from 457 million pounds in May and down 23.5% from the April peak of 477 million pounds. DCO's share fell to 9.7% in June from 12% in May and close to 15% in April.
Used cooking oil (UCO) consumption rose to 689 million pounds in June, its highest level since August 2024, up 14% from 605 million pounds in May. UCO accounted for 18.3% of the total US feedstock mix.
Separate USDA figures also released on September 1 indicated that implied US demand for soybean oil remained firm in July. US soybean oil stocks at the end of the month totaled 1.963 billion pounds, down 6.4% from 2.097 billion pounds at the end of June.
The US soybean crush continued to climb in July, rising 1.8% on the month to a record high for that month, supported by lucrative processing margins and solid domestic soybean oil demand. Domestic processors crushed 222 million bushels of soybeans in July, up from 218 million bushels in June and up 8.3% from 205 million bushels in July 2025.
The domestic soybean crush rose for a second consecutive month in July after falling in May, when several processors shut down plants for planned seasonal maintenance and repairs despite record-high margins.
Source: Fastmarkets