Projects to increase crushing capacity in the USA are on track for the next year, potentially leading to more renewable fuel production, according to an Argus Media report quoting North American oilseed crushers.
After a difficult start to the year for biofuel producers, US policymakers were increasingly making it clear that they wanted refiners to increase output and use more domestic feedstocks, like soyabean oil, according to the 10 July report.
While some facilities had delayed or cancelled plans over the last year due to stagnant demand, the drive could lead to an increase in oilseed crushing capacity, the report said.
Companies confirmed to Argus Media that more than 620,000 bushels/day of new soyabean and canola crush capacity were on track to come online in North America in the next year, while other facilities that did not respond to requests for comment also had plans to increase production.
An increase in vegetable oil supply could also partly address concerns from oil and biofuel refiners that Republicans’ protectionist approach to biofuels could lead to feedstock shortages and price spikes, the report said.
A multi-seed crushing facility under construction in Mitchell, South Dakota, with capacity to process up to 96,000 bushels/day of soyabeans, was scheduled to start up this October, South Dakota Soybean Processors chief executive Tom Kersting told Argus Media.
US crushing company Ag Processing said that a new 137,000 bushels/day soyabean crushing plant in David City, Nebraska, would open “later this year”.
In Canada, global agribusiness giant Cargill confirmed that a 121,000 bushels/day canola processing plant in Regina, Saskatchewan, was also on track to open in 2025.
Meanwhile, Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) said it planned to complete two major projects in North America in the first half of next year. The company’s plans included a 151,000 bushels/day soyabean crush plant in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, and the doubling of capacity at its canola crush facility in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, to more than 240,000 bushels/day.
In the month prior to the report, US soyabean oil futures climbed by 12% following policy shifts – including proposals by the Environmental Protection Agency for record-high biofuel blending mandates for 2026 and 2027 providing more incentives for processors to expand production, the report said.
US President Donald Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill Act’ was also passed on 4 July, which included an extension of the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit by two years, the limiting of the credit to US, Canadian and Mexican feedstocks only, and the removal of indirect land use change (ILUC) penalties.
