Sarah Schneider

We are lucky to live at a time when we have pages of information and entertainment at our fingertips; a growing and widening array of food, fun and travel options; and healthcare that has extended our lives and made older age more comfortable. And we can get replacements for all sorts of aging body parts, including brand-new joints.

US biofuels market participants warned that domestic feedstocks, particularly waste-based oils and fats, are unlikely to keep pace with rising renewable fuel mandates, while uncertainty surrounding the 45Z tax credit continues to complicate pricing, procurement and financing decisions, speakers said at the Fastmarkets Biofuels & Feedstocks Americas conference on Wednesday May 6 in Chicago.

Policy developments in Washington and Beijing over the week ended Friday May 15 are beginning to shift expectations for global biofuel feedstock flows, with potential downstream implications for US used cooking oil (UCO) and animal fats markets.

As record-high US biofuel blending mandates and the 45Z tax credit drive competition for low-carbon feedstocks, used cooking oil, tallow and animal fats are becoming structurally constrained commodities that producers cannot rebalance through supply alone, a squeeze set to intensify well into 2026.

US animal fats and oils markets remained quiet midweek on Wednesday May 27, with participants describing a slow start and limited immediate pricing activity.

The US Department of Energy’s release of an updated model under the revised 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit framework for Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (45ZCF-GREET) on Friday June 12 provides additional clarity on how feedstock economics could evolve, improving the outlook for soybean oil and canola while largely preserving the competitiveness of waste-based feedstocks such as used cooking oil (UCO), tallow and distillers corn oil (DCO).

US animal fats and oils markets remained under pressure on Thursday June 25, though the pace of declines began to moderate after nearly two weeks of broad-based selling driven by improving feedstock availability, incoming imports and weaker soybean oil values.

Use our interactive table to track the tariff and geopolitical impact on corn, soybeans, soybean oil, wheat, tallow and distillers corn oil prices, with Fastmarkets price data and analyst commentary behind every figure.

US animal fats and oils markets opened the week on a quiet note on Monday July 13, with stronger energy and vegetable oil futures doing little to revive spot trading as buyers remained comfortably covered and unwilling to chase higher prices.

US Gulf tallow prices have begun stabilizing after retreating sharply from record highs reached earlier this year, as the market works through a wave of imported feedstocks that pressured prices through June and early July. With nearby supply now appearing more balanced, attention has shifted toward whether newly implemented tariffs on Brazilian tallow could affect the US market's ability to attract imported feedstocks later this year, when renewable diesel producers return to the market and compliance demand builds.