Growth Energy highlighted many issues currently plaguing the nation’s rail service that has resulted in delayed shipments, longer wait times, and higher costs for American ethanol producers. The group’s Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Chris Bliley, testified to the scale of the problem before the Surface Transportation Board. “With drivers facing high fuel prices and ethanol is consistently trading significantly less than unfinished gasoline, at no other time has the need for timely and efficient ethanol rail service been more important,” he said. Data posted by the STB shows that in 2022, the average dwell time for ethanol train units increased, average rail speed decreased, and the average number of ethanol-loaded cars not moved increased, all negative trends that contribute to added costs and other negative consequences through the entire biofuel supply chain. “The ethanol industry ships almost 70 percent of what it produces via rail,” he added.
Ethanol depends on reliable rail service
