Pilot Company pushes SEED Act blenders credit as a $1 billion cut to trucking fuel costs

Pilot Company's energy president, Jesús Guerra, is publicly backing the SEED Act, a federal blenders tax credit he says could take about $1 billion out of the trucking industry's fuel bill. For jobbers and haulers, that's the biofuels item that matters this week. A blenders credit lowers the cost of putting renewable volume into the pool, which Guerra argues would steady fuel prices and pull more domestic production online, feeding through to what fleets pay at the rack.

Whether it moves is another question. The credit has to be reinstated by Congress, and nothing about that is on a schedule yet.

Year-round E15

Mark Bunselmeyer, who runs the Illinois Corn Growers Association and farms in Macon County, told Brownfield he's "cautiously optimistic" about getting nationwide year-round E15 across the line, and not much more than that. His words: "We are in an election cycle, so I'm not super optimistic that something will get done."

What he's watching is the Trump administration's request to fold E15 into a supplemental funding package. Bunselmeyer reads that as a possible sign, since the president has backed E15 before. For retailers, permanent year-round E15 would clear the summer RVP headache that keeps the blend off pumps in the warm months. The clock is the problem. Legislative windows in an election year close fast.

California E15

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association is pushing California to clear E15, which the state still hasn't approved for sale. IRFA's argument is that the delay costs California drivers cheaper fuel and shuts ethanol producers out of a large market.

What to watch

Two things move next. One is whether E15 actually lands in that supplemental package, which would tell you if the year-round push has real legs or is election-year talk. The other is the SEED Act itself, since a reinstated blenders credit would change blend economics at the rack for anyone hauling diesel and gasoline.

Feedstock is worth watching too. Palm oil is moving on El Niño weather and biodiesel demand, and it competes with US soybean oil. If palm tightens, soybean oil could firm and lift renewable diesel costs here.