Massive flooding in the U.S. Midwest has knocked out roughly 13 per cent of the nation’s ethanol production capacity, as plants in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota have been forced to shut down or scale back production following the devastation. Ethanol plants use rail cars to deliver products to the Gulf Coast, East Coast and West Coast markets. The company said on Thursday that production is still limited without providing specific details, but traders said the plant's production has been minimal. Mike Jerke, chief executive of Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy LLC, which runs a 120 million-gallon-a-year ethanol production plant in Council Bluffs, on the border of Iowa and Nebraska, said he has had to cut production. Omaha-based Green Plains, which has a market value of $700 million, said its five Nebraska plants are dry, but they are facing rail challenges around their Atkinson, Ord & Central City, Nebraska plants.

Source: The Star March 22, 2019 05:15 UTC