Weekly US ethanol profits steady depite corn rise

The ethanol industry profitability continues to be plagued by many factors beyond its control. Volatile feedstock costs, infrastructure limitations and the threat of imports just as prices rise hamper margins. This calculation by Reuters on the date of this articel, March 6, 2008 may indicate better times ahead, but the fact of the matter is that Pacific Ethanol, Aventine, Verasun and US BioEnergy...

Two years ago, the ethanol industry went into overdrive in expanding production facilities and ordering railroad tank cars to move the expected flood of new production. No one, however, looked at how the ethanol was to be handled at the customer end of the distribution network and that has produced a major problem for the new industry. Even with corn prices well above $5.00 per bushel, ethanol producers...