US Ethanol Infrastructure

Unit trains are fast becoming the preferred mode of transportation as they can move the same volume of ethanol that would be moved as a pipeline shipment faster and more efficiently. A unit train of ethanol originating in the Midwest can service either the East or West Coasts in approximately 4 days. That is far faster than traveling at 3 miles per hour through America’s pipeline system.

In addition to increases in train and barge unloading capacity, gasoline terminals all across the country are adding storage capacity or dedicating existing storage capacity to ethanol. In markets like Florida, gasoline terminals are turning over storage space to ethanol to allow for increased ethanol blending in one of the largest markets in the United States. This pattern is being repeated all across the country as new markets open to ethanol blending.

Ethanol producers are also taking the initiative to improve their ability to transport product to the market. Today, many ethanol biorefineries have or are installing the rail track capacity to load unit trains of ethanol bound for large markets across the country. It is becoming quite common for ethanol facilities to have five miles or more of rail tracks to receive corn and deliver ethanol and distiller’s grains to the markets that need them.