E15 tops 11% of US gasoline in May as Iowa hauls 46 million gallons
The E15 blend crossed a real line this summer. Gasoline burned by American drivers averaged more than 11% ethanol in May, the first month that has ever happened. Iowa terminals distributed over 46 million gallons of E15 in August, the second-highest monthly total on record according to state fuel-tax data, and the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association says E15 is on track to become the state's top-selling fuel in 2026. For blenders and retailers who put in the tanks and dispensers, the volume is finally showing up.
California E15
An E15 implementation bill passed unanimously out of the California State Legislature. The Renewable Fuels Association is now pressing CARB to move quickly on clearing E15 for retail sale, and is taking the push to the California Fuels and Convenience Alliance conference. California is the largest gasoline market in the country, so opening it to E15 could add meaningful ethanol demand once the regulator signs off. No sale date has been set; that sits with CARB.
The Quad County auction
Quad County Corn Processors is headed to a lender-ordered sealed bid auction run by Maas Companies. The package is the whole operation: a 35 MMgy ethanol plant, 3.7 million bushels of grain storage, US Highway 20 development ground and farmland, the corporate headquarters, and a transload rail facility. Lender-ordered means the owners lost it. Even as margins improve industry-wide, a plant this size going under the gavel is a reminder that small independents can still get squeezed out.
ADM margins
Archer-Daniels-Midland raised its profit forecast on stronger ethanol margins. The stock edged lower anyway, which tells you the market had already priced in better crush economics. Federal numbers back the margin story unevenly: EIA data released Sept. 10 showed US fuel ethanol production fell 1% for the week ending Sept. 4, while stocks rose nearly 15% and exports climbed more than 41%. Rising stocks alongside softer output is worth keeping an eye on if it holds.
Quad-Cities prices
Retail moved hard in the Quad-Cities. Gasoline is up 20 cents a gallon and diesel up 31.6 cents. That kind of jump right in E15's home region matters for street-price economics, since E15's discount to E10 is what actually pulls drivers to the higher blend when they see it on the sign.
What to watch
CARB's timeline on E15 approval is the big one; the legislature acted, but nothing sells until the regulator clears it. Watch the Quad County auction result and who buys, whether ADM's margin call shows up in Q3 across other producers, and whether that 41% export jump was a one-week blip or the start of a trend.